The Golden Fields
by JustBFree
Summary: From the film 300, King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo, from how their life together began, their trials, their love and their ultimate ruin...
1. Chapter 1

It was months after his final trials in the agoge had ended when he first saw her. A daughter of the court, just on the cusp of womanhood. A friend to the palace, not below the notice of Sparta's new king. At first, he had not known her, or any woman. She had been a strange creature to him, this tall, willowy girl with flashing eyes; she was a thing beyond his understanding.

In the beginning.

Young Leonidas, newly crowned and newly a true Spartan, had still much yet to learn. His years in the wild had prepared him to kill; his years under the tutelage of his father had prepared him to fight with honor. Nothing could prepare a man, Spartan or any other, for kingship.

For the first time in years, he would be dependent on others to show him the way. This irritated Leonidas. It seemed to him that he had learned everything of himself during his time in the agoge, but now his time would be spent learning of others, of the Spartan kings of the past, of great wars and battles, of philosophy and government law.

He had made his return to great Sparta, carrying the dead wolf as proof of his strength, cunning, and determination. His father had looked into his eyes then and known it was not some clever imposter, but truly his living son, Leonidas that had returned to begin his training for the crown. Immediate events had taken place- a grand celebration throughout the whole of the city; feasts, costumed dances, sacrafices to the gods in thanks, and all in honor of the young boy that had braved the world to become a man. A king. A Spartan.

The wilds had been harsh, the winter bitterly cold. Food had been scarce. After weeks of surviving on what roots he could dig and tiny mice he could catch, Leonidas had nearly forgotten the harvest feasts. He had eaten hearty, slowly dining on roast meats, sweet breads and wine, dazed with the realization that he had survived the trials of the agoge and had finally come home to the palace of Sparta.

Even as he had begun his training and lessons, the celebrations still took place. There had been no feast this night, rather a simple supper as he preferred, but there was sure to be more celebration to be had. Leonidas supposed the palace planners intended a grand party with every passing month. He preferred instead to focus on the more pressing matter of his education, and what it ultimately meant to be a king.

Leonidas had eaten his fill and then elected to take to the palace gardens for a time, enjoying his own company, as it were.

He stared out towards the mountains in the distance, his mind slow and his eyes tired.

"How goes your education, my son?"

He turned to find King Androcles, his honored father, striding toward him. Leonidas became alert, standing straight and giving his full attention to the older man. "Very well, father."

The older man smiled and put a large hand over Leonidas's narrow shoulder. "You cannot lie to your father, young king. Remember that, and understand that I know the weight on your mind. Here you are, not yet one month returned to Sparta from the agoge, and you are crowned. Legions are at your command, all of Sparta bows at your feet. And you are not happy."

Leonidas frowned and fell into step beside his father. "I am not…unhappy."

Androcles nodded beside him. "I was 'not unhappy' when I first took my crown. Many overlook the responsibilities that define kingship, Leonidas. Only a helot or a fool would wish for the crown. Only a true Spartan can wear it."

Androcles paused then, and faced his son. "Your mother was not alone in her fear when your trials began, Leonidas. In my heart, I knew you would triumph, yet every morning, I knelt with Dorinda and together we begged the gods to watch over you. You have returned to Sparta as a stranger to my eyes, but in my heart I knew you as my young king. My son."

Leonidas looked into his father's eyes, still strong and bright in the light of the dying sun. There could be no doubt of lineage, as they were far too similar in appearance but to be father and son. Both of them heavily muscled, though Leonidas more leanly so, they had the stance of born warriors. His father bore many scars from his years in battle; his hair had become brushed with silver, though much of his mane was still dark yet.

The young king bowed his head slightly in a show of respect. "Father, I thank you for your praise, but had it not been for your guidance nothing would have become of me."

Androcles laughed, "Not how I remember it, boy! You wanted to fight from the moment you first drew breath. Never in my life had I seen such vigor or stubbornness. Your mother lives through you."

Leonidas glanced up. "Yes. Father, I have wanted to ask you, where is the queen? I had expected to see her sooner."

This was a question that had lingered between them, unspoken, for days.

Leonidas remembered his mother well. A strong woman, a true Spartan, she had aided him throughout his father's instruction. It was she who had birthed him and cared for his every need.

_Mother._

As all Spartan mothers, she had fought the guards sent to restrain her when the day came for him to leave Sparta and begin his training in the agoge. The last sound Leonidas could recall of her were screams of his name, and the order to be strong, to live where his brothers before him had died.

Androcles paused in his reverie and moved to stand in the center of the grand palace gardens. Leonidas watched as his father took deep breaths, steeling himself to say what he already suspected to be true. The older man began to speak, then thought better of it, stopping himself.

Leonidas watched and waited to hear the words, a painful revelation from one man to another.

Finally, Androcles spoke. "I will tell you once, and only once, Leonidas. After this, we will not speak of it again- it pains my heart too greatly to relive her memory over and over again. Dorinda, your goddess mother, she fell greatly ill. It was in your tenth year, during the agoge, that she began to complain of a pain in her vitals," Androcles said, motioning to his stomach. "She was with child, and one night she woke me with her screams. There was blood, more blood from her body than I'd thought a woman could hold. The court mystics and physicians could do nothing for her…in that night I lost my wife and what would have been your sister."

Leonidas felt a tightening sensation in his throat and a deep pain in his chest. His mother, dead. She, who had not lived to see her son survive the trials of agoge, to return as king and take the crown of Sparta…

Inwardly, he mourned for his mother, Sparta's finest queen.

Leonidas had no concept of a woman with child- he'd been only a boy once he had been taken from Sparta to begin his training. There had been no women where the agoge began, and certainly none to be seen while roaming the wilds, fighting the bitter cold and the beasts for survival.

Leonidas could not mourn for this child never born, but he did hear the pain in his father's voice. The slight admission of weakness did nothing to lesson Androcles in the eyes of his one surviving son; it was proof that his father was a just man, a fine Spartan king, but still yet a man.

Androcles sighed and shook his head, ridding himself of Dorinda's screams, the torment of his own helplessness that night, years ago now. "Enough of this, Leonidas," he said, his voice heavy. "Your mother would have wept with joy to see you walk through the gates of Sparta, to take the crown and someday, to take a wife of your own."

Leonidas looked up, "A wife?"

Androcles nodded and they began to walk once again, unmindful of the twilight sweeping over all of Greece. "Yes, my son. A wife. Sparta needs a queen- a fine woman to bear you a flock of fine sons. There is no need to choose a woman now; not now when your mind must remain focused on your education. But soon. When the time comes, the palace will receive offers from the public. Those with eligible daughters will wish to organize meetings with you."

Leonidas felt adrift; when he'd returned to the city he had seen few females. Young children, little girls playing in the fields with little boys. Older women keeping shop on the streets had called out their wares to him once he'd returned, but Leonidas had since remained within the palace walls for his education. There was not a woman among them.

The very concept of a wife was foreign to him, and he had not been informed of the custom of choosing a woman.

"Meetings for what?" He asked baldly.

Androcles laughed again. "It seems that the great Leonidas does not know all, eh? Leave it for now, my son. Remain focused on your studies and always think of Sparta. You will not need to choose a wife just yet, but when the time comes, you must choose wisely. A man needs a wife, and Sparta needs her queen- only you can choose the woman worthy."


	2. Chapter 2

The words of his father, the king, had not fallen away from Leonidas's mind but he had not given much thought to the notion of selecting a wife from a parade of Spartan women. He did not feel interested in the matter, and as his tutors reminded him, there was always another lesson to be learned that would serve him well in his future rule.

Battles new and old, news from the outlands, issues concerning the helots, lessons in philosophy and law…

Leonidas sighed, and thought- not for the first time- that his agoge had been less torturous than the constant reading and lectures. He smiled idly at the thought, and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face and chest as he rested on the balcony of his own private chambers.

Here he could relax on his own, without interruption or threat. He had gone into combat training earlier that morning, practicing with small legions, reenacting ancient battle strategies under the ever-watchful eyes of his father and earning high praise when he'd created several tactics of his own.

Leonidas loved battle. Fighting was in the earth and water of Sparta, it was in the air he breathed, in every beat of his heart. Still, there were times when a man would choose to relax and enjoy a bit of peace under Greek's hot sun.

He stretched to feel his muscles unwind and idly ran a hand over his emerging beard. Leonidas knew that he had grown much since returning to Sparta from the wild. He had gained weight now that he did not need to scrounge like an animal for every scrap of food he could find. In custom, he was allowed to grow his hair. Already the top of his head was covered by a short, thick mane of black hair.

Leonidas had become a man.

Every step he'd taken thus far had led him to that realization. As a man, as a young Spartan king, he had quickly learned the truth of his father's words. His responsibilities were infinite; he had been presented with early offers of a wife. Men that lived within the city walls and also those far from Sparta had learned of their new king's need for a bride. Scroll upon scroll of parchment had been delivered to him by palace servants and all of them told of a young, eligible daughter ready for their king's assessment. Some included skilled drawings accompanying the bids. As he had read, images flooded his mind's eye. 

Visions of lithe female bodies and long dark hair swarmed his mind. Leonidas had read that some of the women possessed bright green eyes, a blessing of Aphrodite, while others were reported to have lips as red as that of roses. Leonidas had laughed at the very thought, and laughed harder once he'd heard rumors of women with hair as gold as the sun.

_Impossible!_

Leonidas had never seen such a creature, and refused to believe until one might be presented to his very eyes. Dutifully, he had set the letters aside to be dealt with later. When the time came, he would ask his father for advice in choosing the women to see, and from there choosing the woman that would become Sparta's new queen.

Childish laughter could be heard from down below his balcony, an uncommon sound. Leonidas stood and looked down into the gardens below, surprised and curious at what he found. Unbeknownst to the young king, several friends of his father had returned from abroad, bringing back with them their children. Leonidas remained still as he watched them- two young boys and one young woman- all of them were strangers to his eyes.

Helplessly, his sharp gaze fixated upon the girl. She was the only female of a proper age that Leonidas had ever seen. As custom dictated, he had been kept within the palace, away from all distraction while keeping his focus on the lessons that would lead to his kingship. Now, to see a young woman, so vibrant and alive below, Leonidas felt strange, confused. 

This was not one of the little girls or an old, toothless merchant that he had seen upon his return to Sparta. She was younger than him, yes, but if he had to guess, Leonidas assumed her to be perhaps only ten years younger than himself. It was difficult to assume anything of her size as she was far away, but what of her Leonidas could see, he was pleased, though he wasn't sure why.

The girl had long dark hair and deep golden skin, the coloring of any Spartan. Her lanky form was draped in a white linen gown that covered her modestly from neck to knee, but it in no way kept her from running after the two boys in a game of chase. Unknowingly, Leonidas smiled as he watched them play.

"Gorgo, Apollo and Evander."

The young king turned to find his father suddenly beside him. "How did you-?"

Androcles grinned at his son's surprise. "Stealth, of course. Not only useful when hunting game. Would you like me to arrange an introduction?"

"What?"

"To the children, Leonidas. They belong to my longtime friend and advisor, Cadmus. They were born to his wife overseas, but they are as Spartan as you and I. They know of our honor and customs. Time rules us all; when last I saw Gorgo, she was too young even to walk." Androcles remarked, his eyes on the girl.

Leonidas glanced down again to the gardens, where the boys were now chasing the girl. "Her? She is Gorgo?"

The name pleased him, but again, he didn't know why...

"Yes. Newly sixteen years, as of the past month. Spirited child, and very lovely. In time, when she comes upon her full womanhood, she will make a man very happy." There was a hinting tone in his father's voice that Leonidas could easily recognize.

She was older than he had thought. Leonidas asked, "Father, do you mean for me to…?"

"No, no. That decision is for you alone. But they will be with us for some time, and it would only be right that you are introduced. Besides, I have seen you master every lesson presented to you- I believe you've earned the right to a friend." Androcles said, smiling slightly.

Leonidas shrugged to show his indifference, but he still moved to follow his father down to the courtyard.

The presentation was quick, but Leonidas was shrewd and took each moment to absorb what he could about the girl. At the call of Androcles, she moved toward them, unafraid to face two grown Spartan warriors. Once she was close enough, Leonidas dedicated her face to memory.

A perfect oval of deep golden skin, crowned with a long mane of dark braided hair. The braids were threaded with wisps of gold, a thing Leonidas had been told was common among Spartan women- a sort of reminder that as Spartans, they were champions in and of themselves. He was surprised to find that she was taller than he expected- on her flat feet the top of her head met his chin. She was thin as well, but strong.

The girl bowed to them both. "Good afternoon, my kings." She greeted them warmly.

Androcles smiled at her, much more at ease than his son. Leonidas had never so much as seen a suitable woman before, and now here he was coerced into a meeting, told that he had earned the girl's friendship! His mind swam. What could they do? What could they even talk about?

"Good day, Gorgo. Have you yet met my son, Leonidas?" Androcles asked, putting a large hand over his son's shoulder.

The girl's eyes, a deep startling green, turned to him. "I have not, my lord. Good day, king Leonidas," she greeted, and put out her hand to him.

He had been told of certain social practices, but as yet had not had the chance to enact any of them. It appeared his chance had come in the form of Gorgo. Glancing uneasily at his father, Leonidas took her hand as gently as he could manage, and brought his lips over her skin. She was warm, her hands soft and thin; her taste was fleeting, he wanted more, but just as quickly he shook the thought away. The social niceties of meeting women were unfamiliar to him, and Leonidas hated his own sense of awkwardness over the simple action of meeting a girl!

"Good day, Gorgo." He mumbled, his face hot.

Androcles sighed slightly, but his smile remained in place, if a little forced. "Right. I have affairs of state to oversee. Leonidas, Gorgo has only just arrived to Sparta, show her about her new home." He said, moving to leave them.

"Where has she been?" Leonidas demanded.

Androcles turned to him, bemused as ever. "Why not ask her yourself?" He asked, gesturing to the slim girl. "You two have much to talk about. I will leave you now."

As the king departed, Leonidas turned back to Gorgo, fumbling his brain for something to say. "Would you…care to walk with me, and tell me of your journey to Sparta?" He asked, feeling a great fool.

Gorgo smiled at him, showing even white teeth. "Yes, my king, of course."

Together, they began to walk a path through the palace gardens, unknowingly under the eyes of the king.

Hours later, Leonidas felt slightly more at ease. Spending time with Gorgo had not been the beating he'd thought it to be, in fact she was very interesting to him. Besides that he'd never before so much as seen a woman, she had a sharp mind, strong opinions, and a healthy appetite. She had beaten him in a running race and had made him laugh. These were traits he had overheard his soldiers speak of as wonderful traits in either a wife or lover.

Leonidas looked over at Gorgo, and found her facing the setting sun. Her eyes were closed, she was simply enjoying the last of the sun's heat. He still wasn't sure of how to behave with her; he felt uneasy with her and had kept a certain distance between them throughout the day…now, though, as he watched her he felt his hands twitch in want to touch her hair or the soft curve of her cheek. Ridiculous, he knew, as he might frighten her, or worse, enrage her father.

Sighing slightly beside her, Leonidas admitted his own ignorance of women, and resigned himself to learn more of his impending kingship, and also to keep the beautiful young Gorgo simply as the friend his father promised to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Years had passed since the young king made his return of triumph to great Sparta, each day holding a new lesson, a new challenge, a new test.

Leonidas adjusted himself, conforming to the ancient standards set for a Spartan king. He had received only the wisest men as his tutors, many of them long trusted advisors to his own father. He had grown much since his return from the wilds; the wolf beast had become a symbol synonomous with his name. Like the wolf, Leonidas was as cunning in strategy as he was ruthless in battle. No man, Spartan or other, could deny that he was the born king of his father.

The time when Leonidas would take the throne was upon them, all of Sparta could feel it.

Again, Leonidas was not unhappy at the news. He was no coward when it came to responsibility, and he feared nothing. The only thought that could chill the bones of Leonidas was that, when it came his time to rule, that he might disappoint Sparta, or even worse, fail his father's trust.

The crown was indeed a heavy burden.

Leonidas had grown used to this feeling, a mixture of excitement and dread, and he dealt with it as he did with every other part of his daily rituals. He would wake with the dawn, dress himself in the loose linen robes of an expectant king and give thanks to the gods. He would tend to his duties, review his lessons and speak with his father before touring the farmlands or marketplace of Sparta. He grew familiar with the ebb and flow of the city, he was a welcome and hopeful sight to the people. Always, as it had been from the moment he set foot back into the city, or so it seemed to him, Leonidas would read through the scrolls penned by proud Spartan fathers, boasting of their beautiful, willing virgin daughters.

Leonidas had devoted so much time and effort towards his studies that he had given little thought to choosing a wife. He had given no such order that meetings with patrons should begin. If pressed, Leonidas might admit that he would prefer to take his crown before taking a wife, but as yet no one had asked. Sparta's future king was no longer the ignorant boy he was when first reentering the city, nor was he the willful young man he had been weeks ago- Leonidas now understood why having a woman by his side would be such a great thing in the future.

Dilios, a new friend and young soldier in his first fleet, had not hesitated to humanize his king somewhat by inviting him out to a certain tavern with a group of friends. The tavern had held a long-standing reputation as one of the finest brothels in all of Greece, welcoming all Spartans, but the warriors especially. Leonidas was a responsible young man, his position commanded it, but even his father thought it would do him good to simply be a man, rather than a king for a night. He had been surprised to find he'd enjoyed himself- drinking and gaming with the other warriors seemed to deepen their bond; no longer would they follow him simply because he was a great king, they would follow him because he had become a great friend.

Upon the realization that he had yet to take a lover, or any woman at all, a group of older warriors decided to gift their king with a woman for the night. They had teased him good-naturedly that Leonidas would enter the woman's room a boy and step out a man. No longer ignorant of what a man and woman could share, he had gone into the room feeling excited and slightly unsure of how to go about mating her.

The woman had been only a year older than his own twenty-eight years, but she had shared great wisdom and experience with him, bringing hm into his manhood with gentle instruction and passionate skill.

It had been a strange, wonderful experience, and one that Leonidas desired to have again and again- to him being with a woman could rival the thrill he felt in battle. Still, as much as he desired to do so, he had not returned to the tavern or taken up with another woman. He could feel in his bones that the time to choose a wife was close, and he had to choose wisely. No whore, of course. Talented and experienced as they were, he would never jeopardize the crown's honor by aligning himself with a wanton female. He could not live with himself if the parentage of his future heirs came to be in doubt.

No. Leonidas knew that when he chose his wife, he would know, in his heart, that she would be the only woman he could ever want in his bed- and he would be the only man that had ever lain in hers. He thought of Gorgo. She had grown, just as he had. No longer a coltish girl, she had blossomed further into a strong Spartan woman. Beautiful as Aphrodite, cunning as Artemis...he had not seen her for some time, nearly ten days since he had seen her last, as she had been training. Women were trained to handle weapons, but not to serve as warriors- Gorgo had determined herself to learn how to handle a sword as well as heal the wounds that occured from the blade.

He appreciated her tenacity as well as her beauty. It occurred to Leonidas that he might save himself much trouble if he simply took Gorgo as his queen. She was a beautiful, young noblewoman of pure Spartan heritage. He had known her for years- her twentieth birthday was upon them, and she had been a close friend to him. It would be a wise union, to be sure, but Leonidas was hesitant.

Gorgo was not the same as any other woman a man could meet in Sparta, she was different. Leonidas knew that the promise of a life of comfort would not be enough to have Gorgo agree to be his wife; she wanted more. He didn't know what she wanted, but the stately life of a queen might prove to be a bore to her. She was a joyful young woman, and often prone to speak up among men when another woman might wisely keep quiet.

There were other complications as well. Leonidas knew little of her private life; he might not be the only man in consideration. Once, a year ago, he had been walking through the palace gardens, searching for her, and had caught sight of her with one of his younger cavalry officers, kissing. It had been innocent enough, he supposed, but for all he knew they might be promised to each other.

The idea left him uneasy, and Leonidas admitted that he wanted Gorgo for himself.

He paced his chambers, restless as a caged animal, wondering what course of action to take. Leonidas felt he had to be direct. He would seek out Gorgo and ask if she was promised to any man. If she was, he would wish her a wonderful life and even provide her and her worthy husband with a villa in the south as a wedding present. If she was not...

Decided, Leonidas left his chambers and headed out to the courtyard where she could usually be found when the sun was high, practising strokes with her small sword. He saw her there, with her teacher, a weathered man that had fought countless battles beside his father. "Good, good, Gorgo!" He encouraged her as she advanced on him, sparring with vigor. "Keep this up and the king might put you into battle!"

Leonidas moved closer to them, exposing himself from the shadows of the palace doorway. "I would never use her in battle, we want to defeat our enemies, not wipe them off the face of the earth!"

Both Gorgo and her instructor paused in their fight and turned to him. Gorgo's face was smeared with dirt and coated with sweat, a slight sunburn was showing on her exposed arms and her body was trembling from the fight. She smiled and moved to meet his approach. Leonidas smiled at her in return. He looked up to the old solider and nodded his respect. "Adelphos. Would you leave us? I must speak with Gorgo alone."

The older man nodded, and left them in the courtyard to return to the palace. Leonidas turned to look at Gorgo and smiled slightly to see her attempting to swipe the dirt from her face. "Don't bother," he teased. "You look like a Spartan fresh off the battlefield."

Gorgo laughed and gave up trying to freshen her appearance. "Thank you, my lord. I will never fight on the field but at least I can look the part!"

Leonidas nodded and inclined his head toward the gardens. "Warrior or woman, you'll always be Gorgo to me. I must speak with you."

Catching his serious tone, the smiled faded from her face. "Leonidas, my king, is everything all right? Nothing has happened to my father?"

King Androcles had sent her father, Cadmus, to attend to a summit in the south to address nighboring territories encroaching too closely to Greek farmlands. There had been no word yet from Cadmus, and as far as Leonidas knew, the man would return at the end of the month as planned.

"It's nothing to do with your father, Gorgo. I wish to speak with you concerning us."

She appeared confused. "Us? Well, what of us?"

Leonidas frowned slightly in irritation. "Walk the gardens with me, and I'll tell you."

Gorgo swallowed and began to shift her weight from one foot to another. The expression on her face and the knowing gleam in her eyes told him that she knew, or thought she knew, what he wished to speak to her about. She was nervous, uncertain, and Leonidas thought he saw a flash of regret in her gaze. "I...may I change first?" She asked, motioning to her light metal breastplate and the leather tunic beneath it.

Leonidas understood her tactic- she was stalling for time, but he allowed it. "Go, bathe yourself quickly, but you will return here in one hour." He declared, suddenly annoyed by her.

Her eyes flashed at his command, but she said nothing as turned and stalked back to the palace, heading towards her chambers.

* * *

When Gorgo returned to him, Leonidas felt the breath catch in his throat. It must have been a form of feminine revenge against him, he was sure, for her to have dressed herself in such a way. He'd ordered her to bathe herself, and Gorgo had gone far beyond his expectations. Rather than one of the simple linen robes she wore during the day, she had chosen instead to wear one of the garments usually reserved for formal ceremonies or visiting Greek leaders. 

It was the bright, blinding white of a winter snow; tiny gold beads were woven in about the neck, the ends of her long skirt were dyed deep green and blue, the colors of a peacock, the goddess Hera's creature. Her garment was thin, too thin not to be distracting. In certain light, Leonidas could see the outline of her breasts, the shadow of her sex. He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed a gulp of air as she approached him.

"My king," she greeted him, bowing her head slightly before him.

He took a deep breath, not yet trusting himself to speak. They began to walk their familiar trail through the garden in companionable silence. After a while, Leonidas gestured to a stone bench within an alcove formed of cyprus trees. Gorgo sat down first, and Leonidas followed her. She frowned at his uncertain expression. "You claimed we had to speak, my lord. Please, you are acting very strangely...what has happened to upset you so?"

Leonidas shook his head, "No, Gorgo, nothing has...well, I lie to myself. As you know, the time for me to ascend the throne is growing near. Another year, possibly two, and I will be the true king of Sparta." He felt restless suddenly, and began to pace before her in the soft grass.

Gorgo nodded beside him.

"My father has a few good years left, and since my return from the agoge, he has imparted many lessons and wise words upon me. The most wise of his advice has been that once I am king, I am to choose a queen to rule by my side. He warned me that not any simple woman will do- it would be nothing for a peasant to wear a crown for a day, but a true queen would rule by my side until the end of our reign. This woman, the queen I choose, she would need to be intelligent and strong but not without caring or humor. A woman of appropriate age to bear children, of course, a good mother. A good wife..."

He turned back to Gorgo to see her face pale and her eyes wet with unshed tears. Leonidas moved to sit down beside her on the bench, taking her hands into his own. He rarely touched her, but he was alarmed that her hands felt so cold and trembled within his grip. He took a deep breath and forged onward. "Gorgo, you have lived within the palace for years and in you I have seen both the warrior and the woman. If...if you are not promised to another, I choose you as my queen."

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

"I choose you as my queen," Leonidas declared, his eyes fixed to Gorgo's. She had been uneasy during his explanation, and at his final words she appeared very upset. The tears she had kept within her eyes surged forward down her cheeks. Leonidas had never seen her cry before, he'd never seen her so upset and it unnerved him. He had admitted his desire for her as a woman, and he still cared for her as his friend.

Leonidas tightened his grip over her hands reassuringly. "Gorgo? I want you as my queen, what say you?" He asked.

Gorgo abruptly pulled her hands from his, swiping at the tears streaking down her cheeks. He watched as she took several deep breaths in trying to calm the trembling of her voice. "Leonidas," she pleaded quietly. "Leonidas, I would be honored to rule by your side...but I cannot..."

Anger flared within his chest, and Leonidas could not stop himself from bracing his hands over her narrow shoulders. "Why? Is there another?"

Jealousy was foreign to him. He thought of the cavalry officer from the past year, he remembered seeing them kiss in this very garden through a red haze of anger. Who was he, to touch what belonged to the king? Had Gorgo promised herself to him?

Gorgo didn't struggle away from him, she did not show the slightest of fear when enemies had trembled before his anger. Gorgo knew Leonidas well- it was not in his nature to hurt a woman, whether enemy or friend. "Yes, Leonidas. There are others."

He shook his head, "Others? What is this madness- there can only be one man. Who is he?"

She reached a hand forward and laid it upon his broad chest, just over his steady heart. Her eyes held his. "During these past ten days, your father has received visitors, Leonidas. Messangers from the Ephors. At the end of this moon cycle, when I am twenty, they will take me away. My father promised me to them, years ago. I am to become an Oracle."

The hands that had braced her shoulder flew from her flesh, Leonidas's eyes were wide with shock and fury. "An Oracle, you? Never! I won't allow it! You will be my queen."

"I want nothing more in the world than to be your wife," Gorgo confessed to him. "You have been my friend since our family's return, you comforted me when my brothers were taken for the agoge trials and indulged me endlessly. In you I see the greatest of men, but this cannot be. Soon I will be taken away, and you must choose another to be your queen."

Leonidas reared up, pacing once again. Gorgo had resigned herself to becoming the next Oracle, but women had never been permitted to the Ephor temple. He was sure that Gorgo had no idea what being the Oracle truly entailed. His stomach clenched at the thought of her being laid out to those twisted old creatures; her mind would be stripped of all reason by their incense, her body forced to writhe in ancient dances, forced to endure their gnarled hands and violent possesions. _No!_

"I want no other. Only you. I will speak to my father. The messangers will take another, but not you." Leonidas said with all the will he could muster.

Gorgo remained seated on the small stone bench, her hands folded in her lap. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. "You are a great man, Leonidas of Sparta, but I am unworthy of your concern. If you oppose the Ephors, terrible things can happen. Sparta must not suffer for your choice of queen. Choose another, Leonidas."

Leonidas wanted to brace his hands over her shoulders once more and either shake her to see reason or lift her to her feet and kiss her. He had never kissed a woman before, but as Leonidas had already chosen Gorgo in his heart to be queen, it felt right to do so. He moved to her, slowly so not to upset her further.

Carefully, he put his hands over her shoulders, gently this time. He stroked her arms, up and down, as he might do when breaking a wild mare. Gorgo's eyes closed at his touch. Leonidas moved his hands up to cup her face, lifting her mouth to his. He closed his eyes as his lips brushed against hers. She was soft and hot; Leonidas groaned slightly as she allowed him to deepen the kiss.

Gorgo reached forward at first to push him away- she was promised to the Ephors, she couldn't be seen with the king so close to her departure from Sparta- but Leonidas only pulled her closer, crushing her against him. Gorgo's hands moved from pushing him away to resting over his shoulders, her nails clutching at his flesh.

Truly, she had grown to love Leonidas some time ago. Where once he had been merely her friend, he was now a man that she both desired and respected. Gorgo had not known of her father's promise until she learned that he had refused to petition the king for her. When she had asked him why, thinking that perhaps her father thought her to be too ugly or unworthy to someday be a queen, Cadmus had explained. During their first year back in Sparta, her younger brother Apollo had fallen ill.

In return for the knowledge to cure him, the Ephors had demanded her as their next Oracle.

It was an impossible demand, but Cadmus could not allow his son to die if the price was that his daughter only serve the Ephors for five years. He was not an ignorant man- any Spartan that had ever laid eyes on the Oracle could discern the truth of the Ephors' motivations. He had been at war with himself over the decision, but as Apollo began to fade faster and faster, the choice was made for him. Gorgo was promised to them once she reached the age of twenty.

Gorgo only knew that she would be taken from her home and given to ancient mystics. What would happen to her from there, she had no idea. Leonidas held her close to him, planting small kisses to her face and neck, whispering to her a promise that he would slay Hades himself to have her rule at his side.

She allowed him to hold her, but her heart sank low that he tempted the fates with such arrogance.

* * *

"Father, I must speak with you." 

King Androcles glanced up from the maps he'd been studying. Some showed the harvest crops and livestock, other showed neighboring Greek territories and still others showed potential strategies for friends that might all too easily become enemies. He watched as his son, now a grown man strode toward him. He didn't like to admit that he would hesitate before facing Leonidas in battle- time ruled them all, and Androcles was not the mighty warrior he once was. His joints ached and the mane that had once shared the jet black coloring with his son had gone to a steely gray.

He was old, it was true, but Androcles was still yet king.

"Good day, my son. Something troubles you?"

Leonidas moved to face his father, and Androcles wondered why it was that his face appeared so flushed. "Gorgo is to be an Oracle."

Androcles nodded. "Yes, Cadmus promised her a few years back, when young Apollo was ill, don't you remember?"

Leonidas nodded, recalling with ease the dread felt throughout the palace over the boy's fate. "Yes, I remember, but I had no idea that Cadmus had promised her away to the Ephors."

The older man shrugged. "Well, do not think that Cadmus arrived at his choice so easily, my son. How can you ask a father to choose between allowing his son to die or signing away his daughter's future. He agonized for days, seeking the council of the other advisors, the gods, why, he even begged me for guidance!"

Leonidas glared, "And it was you that told him to sell her?"

Adrocles glared back to his son, "Watch your words, Leonidas. You are not king yet. No. I did not tell him to sell his only daughter as one would sell a brace of sheep or a bushel of wheat. Apollo was dying, Leonidas, and Cadmus refused to allow it to happen. The agreement was made, with much difficulty, but it was made. Apollo lived and soon Gorgo will be taken to the Ephors. Why are you so concerned?"

Leonidas threw up his hands in anger, "I am concerned because Gorgo will be drunk on their incense and forced to be the whore to those corrupt demons for years! She has no idea what the Oracle truly is- just a puppet, a plaything to those men. They...they will steal her virginity, using her until there is nothing left, ruining her for any other man and destroying her spirit! It will not happen."

Androcles studied his son as closely as he'd studied the maps. "I hate the Ephors as do you, Leonidas. Perhaps more so. It was them that declared your mother to wander limbo, I nearly emptied the palace treasury to buy her passage into the afterlife. She has thanked me every year since with bountiful harvests, and the Ephors claim glory for it."

Leonidas nodded, growling, "Corrupt bastards. They will not take Gorgo."

The older man frowned slightly. "All of Greece runs with certain faults, my son, but even a king cannot unmake generations of tradition. The Ephors will live in their temple, filled with greed and power, and among them there will always be an Oracle- I hate the practice as well, but you must learn to see this as a necessary evil."

"Never! Gorgo will be my queen, not a whore to devils!" Leonidas bellowed his fury.

Androcles took a step back in surprise. "Gorgo? You've chosen Gorgo as your queen?"

"Yes. I chose her just today and it was she who told me of the messanger sent to take her to the temple. Father, I will slay ten hydras to save her from that fate. How can I stop them from taking her?" Leonidas asked.

Androcles frowned. "My son, I confess that this has never happened before- no living Greek has ever challenged the Ephor's choice of an Oracle. We will speak with the messanger, when the time comes. There may be a custom, or perhaps we will need to speak with the Ephors themselves."

"I don't want to see the damn Ephors. I may lose control and kill them all at first sight."

"I may join you in doing so, Leonidas. Do not think that you are alone in your hatred for the miserable wretches. As satisfying as it would be, we would become cursed men if their blood should ever stain our swords. We will present our case, and abide by their decision. I warn you, Leonidas, the Ephors are dangerous and may bring you into danger."

"I don't care, father. Gorgo will be my queen, and I will bring the Ephor temple to rubble if they deny me."

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Leonidas felt restless, almost tense as he watched several servants escort Gorgo into the covered carriage that would bear her to the Ephor temple, miles and miles from Sparta. They raised sheets around her as she walked, shielding her from sight. She had been closeted within her chambers for days, locked away from all prying eyes of men. Her attendants had been hard at work, presenting her with all forms of silk and linen garments, elaborate jewelry and everything else a woman might need for the journey to the Ephor temple.

He'd never given much thought to all that a woman required to keep up her appearance. He had seen Gorgo sweaty, sunburned and dirty before, all the while wearing a shapeless leather training tunic- none of it had lessened his desire for her as his intended queen. Leonidas and Gorgo had not seen each other for days, not since he had told her of his intention to take her as his wife.

Androcles watched as his son's eyes followed the carriage. They were to follow the carriage on horseback, with a group of palace guards and one slave girl who was to act as the substitute for Gorgo, if the Ephors would only allow the trade.

They set out from the palace, carving a path through the marketplace. Several citizens stopped in their duties to watch the proud company pass, but none dared to approach the covered carriage. Soon, they had made it out of the walls of Sparta, and moved forward, through the country. The day was hot, but a cool breeze blew against them, very pleasing against the high heat.

Both kings rode strong black stallions, while the warriors accompanying them marched, and the slave girl rode a similar, yet noticably smaller, carriage. She had been dressed and made up to look to her best advantage the same as Gorgo, but again, Leonidas had been denied to see her by custom. He only hoped that the little helot would hold a greater appeal to the Ephors, so they might let Gorgo be free to marry him.

Dilios walked beside Pegasus, the horse of Leonidas. "Do you believe this will work, sire?"

Leonidas glanced down. "It is uncertain whether the Ephors will stand for my interruption of their traditions. All the same, I will present my case. Gorgo will be my queen, whether by negotiation or by their blood."

Dilios smiled slightly, teasing his friend. "Outside of the gods, I cannot recall a man doing so much for a woman. We should keep this quiet, otherwise all women throughout Greece will expect their men to go through Hades simply to please them."

His eyes ahead on Gorgo's carriage, Leonidas smiled.

* * *

It was two days' journey to the Ephor temple, leaving them only one night before their fate would fall. Leonidas could not sleep. His father slept; the older man was snoring lightly on the other side of the tent. He knew that several of the guards outside were alert, keeping a perimeter watch around their small camp. 

He wondered about Gorgo.

She must be afraid, though Leonidas knew she would die before admitting fear. She was Spartan, after all.

It was against custom for the future Oracle to be seen by any man while being brought to the Ephors, but Leonidas detested this custom that forced a Spartan woman into playing the whore for gnarled old men. The slave girl intended for trade was simply that: a slave. One of many, but the girl was a virgin with no family, and slaves were peculiar in that they could forgive an unpure woman and take her into marriage. He knew the helot would be welcomed back to Sparta once her servitude to the Ephors had finished- possibly she might be desired by another slave, or even a farmer of the outlands would offer her marriage.

If the Ephors chose Gorgo, no man would even look upon her.

The contract had been for five years- Leonidas would be well into his kingship by then, and would need to be married with an heir inside of a year. If the Ephors chose her, it would be far too late for them, and his only choice would be to keep her as a mistress once she returned to Sparta.

_No. Gorgo deserves more than that..._

Restless, and bold enough to ignore custom, Leonidas rose from his pallet and stalked from the tent, moving straight for the carriage that still held Gorgo within. He stopped and reached for the linen curtain that shielded her from his eyes. A hand whipped through the air to catch his wrist.

Leonidas glared at the captain of his first legion, several years older than himself, and demanded, "Release me, captain."

The other man shook his head, "My king, you might not give much regard to the customs of Sparta, but some of us do. I beg you, do not look upon the future Oracle's face- it may bring a curse down upon all of us."

Leonidas pulled from the captain's grip. "And if the Ephors decide to take the helot and Gorgo becomes my queen, what then?"

"Then I will serve you as ever. But for the good of the men, I beg you again, do not look upon her."

Leonidas took a deep breath. Perhaps his captain was right- he had already gone against ancient traditions, his arrogance could prove dangerous if he kept on, and no king could put himself before the good of his men. He sighed, wondering why it was that where Gorgo was concerned, he felt he cared about nothing else. He had to regain himself and keep his wits about him.

The captain was right. "Captain. It is not _custom_ for an officer to object to his king...but it takes great courage to speak up. Thank you, friend. I will not look upon her, but there is no law that states we are not to speak." He said, a smirking glint in his eye.

The captain nodded, understanding. "Yes, sire. I'll leave you to it."

The older man moved off, leaving Leonidas standing beside the covered carriage to wonder what had been done to Gorgo to present her to the Ephors tomorrow. He had no choice but to simply wonder- he had told the captain he would not look at her, and what was a king that could not keep his word?

He turned to the curtain, and spoke softly, "Gorgo, Gorgo, are you awake?"

Faintly, he could hear soft ruffling, the shift of one material against another. "Leonidas?"

His heart pounded. "Yes, it's me."

"Please, you must not look upon me. I...I don't want you to see me like this..." She said quietly, her voice soft behind the curtain.

He shook his head, hating how small she sounded. Where was the Gorgo he knew? This voice behind the curtain was meek with defeat, resigned and sad. "Gorgo, are you hurt?"

"No. Not yet."

"I won't let the Ephors have you. Sparta needs a queen, but it will never have one if I can never have you." He declared. Leonidas was unused to exposing his own emotions- a warrior king was to be strong, fearless and respected. Leonidas was all those things, and perhaps his youth leant him a certain degree of arrogance that would fade with time. He had proven his courage and cunning in battle, he had shown fairness to his people and reverence to the gods.

There were few who could find fault with the young king, though where Gorgo was concerned, he seemed to have suddenly gone mad.

"Leonidas, please. You must not say such things. I didn't know of such things before, but I do now. I overheard servants talking. The Ephors will not give me up, and you may be punished for disrupting the traditions. Once they see me, they will want to keep me as both a mystic creature and use me as a-"

"Don't say it!" Leonidas hissed. He had hoped that Gorgo would remain in a state of blissful ignorance about what the Ephors would demand of her as Oracle. Now that she knew, he understood the sadness in her voice. His hands tensed, both with the desire to reach through the curtain and hold her, and to kill each Ephor- slowly. "You will return with me to Sparta, I swear it. You will be my wife, and bear my heirs, Gorgo."

She was silent for a time. "I want this life you dream of, my friend, but nothing ill must come of this. Sparta must never suffer for the desires of two citizens."

Leonidas reached through the curtain, careful to keep his eyes averted. His hand found silk, and he groped blindly until he could feel her hand in his. Calming slightly, he stroked her arm to comfort her. "Sparta will not suffer with you as its queen, Gorgo. I have seen Demeter in you- the harvests will be bountiful, the women will be strong as well as beautiful. We will be the ruling hand, as it has always been meant to be."

The hand he stroked pulled away. "I want to believe you Leonidas. Whatever happens tomorrow, know that...that you have my heart, always."

Leonidas bowed his head slightly, and withdrew his hand from the carriage. "And you have mine." He said softly.

He glanced up to see the captain motioning for the changing of the guard. Leonidas would have to leave to avoid dissention among his men. He could not be seen so close to the future Oracle- it would arouse suspicion, and he knew that he was already risking enough by offering the Ephors a trade rather than honor the agreement made by her father.

The young king stalked back to his tent, sure he would never sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

It came as a great surprise that he had found any sleep at all after his secret meeting with Gorgo; Leonidas had been sure that Morpheus would have abandoned him, but somehow in the night he had managed a still yet restless slumber. He had dreamt, but the images had left him unsettled, a stone of dread grew heavy in his stomach and over his heart.

In dreams, Leonidas had seen Spata burn, he had seen Gorgo in chains and his father dishonored, exiled from Greece. He had seen his fellow warriors die by his side and a rain of jagged arrows falling from the sky.

He sighed as he sat up on his pallet, and looked over at his father. The older man still slept, a long dagger clutched in his hand- the warrior within could never die, not even with the advance of kingship.

Leonidas stood and looked outside the tent to see that the palace guards had maintained their perimeter watch. He caught the eye of Dilios and nodded, then nodded to the captain when he looked the king's way. His sharp eyes looked to the covered carriages, the smaller holding the helot girl and the larger containing Gorgo. His chest tightened with anticipation.

_If the Ephors refuse to release her..._

"Patience, my son." Leonidas turned to find his father risen beside him. As always, he had not realized his father's movements until it was too late, so great a warrior was he.

Androcles followed his son's eyes to the carriage. "We will present our case- I've asked that officer in your legion, Dilios, to assist us in speaking. He has a gift with words, I think. He might be better able to convince the Ephors than I."

Leonidas nodded. "If Dilios can convince them of the trade, I'll promote him through the ranks. Some of the men disagree with this." He said, thinking of the captain.

Androcles nodded. "Yes, but the rest of them secretly applaud you. Any man that has seen an Oracle girl would applaud you. They keep quiet only out of respect for traditional custom. Come now, the sun is soon to rise, we need to resume the journey."

Leonidas nodded and moved to assist his father in breaking down the tent, but Androcles waved him away. "I can manage the tent. Go, awaken Gorgo and the helot. They should be alert for the impending arrival- the Ephor temple is only half a day's journey from here."

The younger king smiled, understanding his father's orders perfectly.

* * *

"Gorgo?" 

Again, he could hear the shift of a body against material, and there was a soft shadow against the curtain that kept her shielded from the eyes of men. The shadow moved upright, and turned at the sound of his voice. "Leonidas. Good morning,"

He smiled slightly, thinking it would be a great thing to hear her say that to him every morning while he ruled over Sparta. "We are assembling the camp, the journey will soon go on."

"And how much longer to the Ephors?" Her voice dropped at the word; she sounded miserable.

Leonidas frowned, he did not like her to be upset. "It will take half the day to get there. I...I don't want you to be afraid, Gorgo. You will return to Sparta with me."

Gorgo laughed quietly, her voice thick. "You are so sure, great king Leonidas? You speak as if Zeus himself whispered it in your ear." She was trying to tease him as she always had before, claiming he was too serious and stubborn, but he could hear the upset she was trying to hide.

Again, ignoring all custom and tradition, Leonidas reached through the veiled curtain and took her hand into his firm grip.

"I have no need of the gods' word, Gorgo. The Ephors are corrupt. We will bribe them with gold, jewels, and ten helot girls if need be."

He felt her try to pull from him but Leonidas held on to her hand. "Leonidas, you're mad to offer so much! You threaten Sparta itself with your demands. Please, abandon your plan, I'm not worth your ruin!"

Leonidas shook his head, speaking over her quiet pleas. "No, Gorgo. What man, Spartan or any other, should roll over and allow tradition to steal away his intended queen? I will not."

She went quiet, and Leonidas released her from his grip. He withdrew his hand from behind the curtains, and took a step back from the carriage. "I cannot let them take you." He said quietly.

* * *

The journey to the Ephor temple was long, but not difficult. The road through the country was smooth, the earth packed flat from generations of traveling Greeks. Some sought out council, some sought blessings from the gods for family births, deaths and harvests. 

The king ruled Sparta beside the Senate, with the Ephors above them- it was they who ruled the omens, war, peace and politics. Androcles hated them- they were more akin to greedy merchants than to wise mystics. He had to buy his wife peace in the afterlife, he had to buy blessings for every son that he had sent to the agoge trials.

Each of his sons had died there- the first had been killed by one of the older boys in the training camp at nine years with a blade to his throat; the second had died after surviving the camps only to be killed by Greece's harshest winter at fifteen years.

It was Leonidas that had survived everything, and it was Leonidas alone that Androcles had refused to buy blessings for. He chose instead to pray beside Dorinda and to his great joy, it would be the third son to take the throne in less than one year.

All of Sparta would flourish under the hand of Leonidas- it was the city's hope that Gorgo would rule by his side as queen.

The journey ended as the group came upon the small, rocky mountain with the large temple set atop it. Leonidas shrugged to himself as he dismounted his horse. It looked very different in the daytime than it did at night. The sky was bright and clear, no clouds to add eery shadows to every corner. The mountain was tall, with a narrow set of steps carved into the stone, spiraling up to the white temple on the very top.

Leonidas had only been to see the Ephors twice- the first time had been with his father, seeking consult over rumors of a planned helot uprising; the second he had been alone, where he had sought blessings for Gorgo's brothers Apollo and Evander as they entered their agoge trials.

Each journey to the temple had cost a great sachel of gold and given rise to his temper.

King Androcles dismounted beside him easily. "Right. You, Dilios and I will ascend to the temple, leaving five warriors behind to guard the carriages as the palace servants prepare Gorgo and the helot girl. They will follow us as soon as the women are ready, and if the Ephors are willing to listen, we will discuss terms."

Leonidas felt his chest tighten. "Thank you for this, father." As the king still in power, Androcles could have just as easily ordered Leonidas to marry another woman or even had Gorgo killed to eliminate her as a distraction, but instead, here he was with his son, ready to face down the enemy.

Androcles smiled. "You will thank me with your sons, Leonidas. Sparta always needs plenty of those."

Leonidas glanced over to Gorgo's carriage and swallowed. She would be his queen and bear his sons, it had to be her. Leonidas could imagine no other woman by his side.

* * *

The walk up to the Ephor temple was not difficult, and in fact it went quicker than Leonidas expected, but perhaps he had allowed himself to become distracted. He shook himself into alertness once they reached the entrance to the temple. 

He would need to keep himself ready, prepared for whatever may occur.

"Great Ephors of Sparta, it is I, King Androcles of Sparta with my son Leonidas." Androcles announced himself. "We have come to present the next Oracle."

Leonidas tilted his head slightly- he had thought he'd heard something, perhaps a whimpering animal? He glanced over at Dilios to see that he, too, had obviously heard something but they couldn't say what.

A shadow shifted, calling away his attention. One of the Ephors was entering the room from an alcove. No one could say for sure, but it was Leonidas's understanding that when not in the main temple, there were several small hidden rooms where the Ephors retired. Either that, or they all slept together, grouped for warmth like lizards.

He thought of a lizard as the Ephor approached them, flicking his tongue. "Ah, Androcles. Where is the new girl? We've grown tired of our current Oracle- her visions are growing weak. Only new blood can revive our link with the gods." He hissed to them.

Leonidas tensed- the hideous little man hadn't even addressed his father as king!

_Do they know no respect?_

Androcles nodded. "They are ascending."

The Ephor looked to Leonidas, his black eyes carefully assessing. "And why have you brought the boy?"

"Leonidas has not been a boy since his agoge. What you see before you is a man, the only of my sons to have survived the wilds. He is to be king." Androcles bit out.

"And a fine king he'll make, I'm sure," the Ephor groused.

Irritated, Leonidas glanced behind them to see the warriors approach, curtained litter platforms carried between them. Again, he could not see inside, but in his heart he knew Gorgo was there. He wished to lend her his courage.

_No worries, this will be over soon and we will return home..._

The Ephor looked past them and seemed confused. "Why do you present two litters? What is the meaning of this?"

Leonidas looked to Dilios and nodded. His friend nodded back to him and stepped forward. "Great Ephors, we have come before you in the hopes that you will hear the cry of Aphrodite. She has spoken to Leonidas and Gorgo of Sparta and we now pray she will speak to you. Gorgo, daughter of Cadmus, the friend and advisor to our King Androcles, has been chosen by Leonidas to be the next queen of Sparta. This choice was made when he was unaware of her father's promise to the Ephors, but all the same the girl has been chosen. It is our hope and the hope of all Sparta, that you will accept a trade of a fine helot virgin in place of Gorgo."

It was a fine, articulate speech and Leonidas admitted that he had been impressed- he knew himself well enough to know that he was not so gifted as Dilios when it came to expressing himself with delicate words.

The Ephor glared at them all, from one warrior to the next, and his eyes shifted to the litters which held the women. Finally, "Allow my brothers to come forth and we will confer with the gods."

The Ephor left them then, and Leonidas let out a breath as Androcles congratulated Dilios on his fine words. He turned to thank his friend, secretly hoping, pleading to all the gods that it would be enough.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

The Ephors began to file out onto the grand temple floor, each more hideous than the last. The Spartans bristled at the sight of these creatures, all of them old, weak and driven mad by inbreeding and the corruption of power. Leonidas glanced to his father, his heart pounding.

_It does not matter what they decide- I cannot leave Gorgo to these demons..._

The Ephor from before, the first they had dealt with, stepped forward. "Androcles, you allow your only son to challenge centuries of tradition and Greek custom. This insolence is unheard of, but I should not be surprised that it should come of your house. My brother Ephors will consider your offer of trade, but we make no promises. What else have you to offer?" He demanded. Clearly, he was asking for a bribe.

Leonidas looked to Dilios, who stepped forward. "Five sachels of gold, ten cloaks of the finest brushed wool and ten bushels of wheat. All to be given only if Gorgo is free to marry the king." He said, very careful to outline the fact that the Ephors would receive nothing if they demanded Gorgo to be their Oracle.

"We will consider the offer, but we must see the girls; bring forth Gorgo of Sparta and the helot." The Ephor commanded.

Dilios nodded and stepped back, motioning for the servants to carry the litters forward. They came into the center of the temple and placed the litters on the floor. The kings and Spartan warriors stood on one side, the Ephors on the other. Leonidas was reminded of rival wolf packs, ready to fight over a kill.

An Ephor, tall and very thin, moved forward to the litters. It almost appeared as if he was sniffing the air, testing which scent pleased him more. Leonidas remembered Gorgo's scent. It angered him to think the Ephor might be pleased by it. The young king watched as the Ephor extended a gnarled, bony hand and pulled back the curtain on the first litter. Gorgo was inside, and revealed to the Ephors but still shielded from the eyes of the Spartans.

Watching closely, he could see the Ephor's face split into a wicked, lecherous grin. The grin spread to the faces of the other Ephors as they all moved forward to crowd around her. They ignored the other litter completely, it was as if the helot girl did not exist.

"Ah, Gorgo of Sparta, yes. I remember you!" One of them said eagerly.

"Advisor Cadmus was so consumed with self-loathing and regret when he agreed to give you to us; you would have fetched such a high bride-price in the city." Another said, his voice dripping with lust.

"You are worth much more than five sachels of gold, I should think. Your face is a match for Helen herself."

Leonidas clenched his fists at the open taunt. He wanted Gorgo to be able to see him, so that he could speak to her with his eyes.

_I will bring this temple to its knees for you, my queen!_

An Ephor glanced up and caught the fire in the young king's eyes. "Ah, Leonidas. You wish to see what we see?"

_I wish to crush you with my bare hands!_

Leonidas said nothing.

The Ephor obviously did not appreciate his furious silence, and so his smile changed from playfully lecherous to genuinely cruel. "Right then, she hopes to be your queen? Surely you have seen her already. My brothers," he said, addressing the other Ephors, "I think it possible that the whelp king, Leonidas, might have tainted this girl. Only a pure woman can be the Oracle! If tainted, she is useless!"

The Ephors rose their voices in a chorus of agreement. "Leonidas has taken the girl to ensure her as queen!"

"She was promised to us years ago! Little whore, we should sacrafice her to Hera!"

Leonidas could take no more. "No!" He shouted, silencing their rambling. "No, Gorgo is pure, I have not taken her."

He stepped forward, shaking off his father's restraining hand. "Gorgo is a pure Spartan woman and her rightful place is on the throne at my side." He said firmly.

The Ephors smiled again at his outburst. "Oh, is that true, young king? Then surely you have no objections that we test your word!"

Before Leonidas could react, the Ephor reached forward into the litter and pulled Gorgo forth, displaying her to the eyes of the Spartans. Behind him, Leonidas could hear Dilios mutter, "By the gods." There was more murmuring, the Spartan warriors at their back had grown uncomfortable seeing Gorgo- she was friend and healer to many of them, and like the kings, they were more than hoping for a reason to slaughter the demented old mystics.

It was indeed Gorgo, clad in barely more than a careful arrangement of scarves that clung to her breasts and hung loosely over her hips. So much of her skin was revealed, more than Leonidas had ever seen- her arms, her torse and her legs were exposed to his eyes; desire and a fierce urge to run to her swept over him. The servants had painted her body, intricate goddess symbols covered her arms and back, even more so on her legs and stomach. Tiny braids were woven throughout her loose mane of hair, and her eyes had been shadowed with the blackest kohl.

The night before, Gorgo had begged him not to look at her even when they were alone. Now he knew why.

She, like the thousands of Oracle girls before her, had been dressed as the whore of the Ephors. Leonidas felt his stomach clench.

The Ephors held her hands behind her back and roughly forced her face up when she tried to turn away in shame. "No, no, girl. You will either be an Oracle or a queen before this night is over. Show some pride!"

Gorgo began to struggle then, cursing and hissing at the Ephors as they began to lay hands on her body. Leonidas started forward, and it took King Androcles, Dilios and the captain to hold him back from the Ephors. "Leonidas, you must stop!" His father ordered him. "They mean to test her purity, I know this kills you but you must control yourself!"

Leonidas knew the words of his father were true, but how could he or any man stand by and watch as those creatures touched her so roughly?!

His eyes followed their hands as they stroked over her breasts and stomach, her arms and legs. Disgusted and humiliated, Gorgo continued struggling against the Ephors even as they held fast to her to prevent her from escaping. If the fire in her eyes was any indication, it appeared that Gorgo was as eager as her fellow Spartans to slaughter all the Ephors in the temple.

Leonidas felt the wolf within ready to attack. He envisioned himself tearing into them with his bare hands, beating them until their faces were smears of blood and bone, spears through their hearts, blades at their throats...

_You miserable, wretched, animals!_

An Ephor hand moved down to the scarf over the apex of her thighs- the final test for her purity. Gorgo cried out, this time in fear and pain; the sound tore Leonidas apart inside. "Enough!" He roared at them, struggling against Dilios and the captain's firm grips.

The Ephors laughed and shoved Gorgo forward, onto her hands and knees. "Take your girl, Leonidas. You are a blasphemous whelp, and we have no want of your woman."

Dilios and the captain finally released him, both of them sighing with relief. King Androcles gave his cloak to Leonidas, "Take her, my son. The day is yours."

Leonidas rushed forward to help Gorgo to her feet, pulling his father's cloak over her to sheild her body from the eyes of both the Spartans and the Ephors. She instantly pulled it closer around herself, desperate to be covered and absorbed with shame. Leonidas took her into his arms, "Gorgo, I am sorry. We will take you back to Sparta."

"Take the daughter of Cadmus, and leave us the helot. Do not forget the gold, wheat or cloaks promised to us." An Ephor demanded.

Leonidas released Gorgo for just a moment, and drew out his sword. "Yes, I think you'll be needing the cloaks most of all," he growled at them.

He moved, faster than Gorgo had ever imagined a man of his size could move. His blade sliced through the air, cutting at the clothed necks of the Ephors, one after another, until their robes lay in tatters, their own bodies suddenly just as exposed and naked as Gorgo's had been moments before.

Once he was finished, Leonidas inspected his sword. Only a few drops of Ephor blood had been spilled. Small wounds, nothing deadly.

_Pity. _

The Ephors shrieked and cursed him as they bled, and scrambled away to retrieve more clothing, shame and humiliation adding speed to their gnarled leper bodies. Leonidas turned to Gorgo, his father, the servants and his warriors. "Behold, the mighty and powerful Ephors!"

The Spartans laughed heartily at his boast.

Leonidas moved to Gorgo once again. He swept her into his arms and moved away from his company, wanting very much to speak with her alone.


	8. Chapter 8

Leonidas took Gorgo down the step path of the temple, bringing her as far from the Ephors as fast as he was able. He did not care that the Spartan alliance with the mystics would be damaged now, and they would surely hold him in contempt when it was his time to rule. The Ephors were a dying breed, their only hold of power coming from ignorance and the public's refusal to give up old and useless traditions.

When he was king, he might remove them from power all together. _Diseased, useless mystics..._

The late afternoon sun was high and hot, a large orange circle surrounded by a bright pink sky. The darkness of night was still over an hour away. For now they were alone painted by the sunset.

Leonidas felt Gorgo suddenly begin to struggle in his arms and he set her on her feet. To his surprise, she ran from him. "Gorgo, where are you going? Come back to me!" He shouted as he ran after her. The girl ran, the king's cloak flaring out behind her as she ran from him.

He jogged after her, easily keeping pace, but he did not understand why she was running from him. "What is the meaning of this? Stop!"

Gorgo continued to run, but she finally paused once she came across a pool of water, off the flow of a small river. Leonidas stopped before her and watched as she stood, staring out to the water. Gorgo turned to him, her face flushed and her hair in disarray. It was difficult to read her expression for the heavy cosmetics the servants had applied but her eyes met his; in spite of what the Ephors did to her, she remained strong.

Without a word, Gorgo removed the protective cloak of King Androcles and held it out to his son. Leonidas stepped closer to her to take it, unsure of what she meant to do. Gorgo took a step back from him and turned to face the water. Without hesitation, she dove forward, plunging in and cutting through the water in a powerful swim. Leonidas watched as she disappeared beneath the surface.

He waited.

She surfaced, whipping her hair back off her face to trail down her back. Gorgo rose out of the water, naked, without a trace remaining of the gold paint on her body, nor any of the kohl that had obscurred her eyes. She was Gorgo once again, the same woman he had known for years as a friend and now he would know her as a lover and wife.

Gorgo stood in the shallows, her eyes on him as the water lapped at her knees.

Leonidas set his father's cloak aside beneath a tree that grew on the shore and, keeping his eyes on her, he began to remove his own. He watched as Gorgo took a deep breath. He hoped it was in anticipation; he never wanted his wife to fear him. He removed his cloak and then the leather at his waist. Gorgo's eyes widened fractionally as his intentions became clear.

Leonidas did not hesitate before moving into the water to join her.

"Gorgo," he breathed, pulling her to him. His arms twined about her waist, allowing his hands to rest over the curve of her hips. He had not held her in years, or so it seemed. He kissed her, as he had in the palace garden, the last day they'd been permitted to see each other. She tasted the way she had in his memory- sweet as honey and rich as cream.

Sighing softly, Gorgo's hands moved up to rest on his shoulders. Their kiss ended and she shifted her head down to plant two soft kisses on his neck. Leonidas closed his eyes, suddenly content to simply be alone with her for a while. He smiled slightly as he felt her fingers stroke through his beard.

His hands stroked over her smooth back, happy to see that the gold symbols had been washed away. She was his now, truly his.

"I thank you, king Leonidas, for refusing me to the Ephors." She sighed quietly against him. He could feel a new tension move through her body. His father had once told him that women, even the strongest Spartan woman, were very different than men in that they gave free reign to their emotions. Not all the time and certainly their emotions did not overrule their logic, but women could sometimes be ruled by their hearts.

It was difficult for Leonidas to understand the way a woman, this woman especially, would see the world.

That she would simply thank him seemed odd to him; it should be an unspoken understanding between them that as her husband, he would kill to protect her.

"Will you be my queen, Gorgo? You weren't able to answer me before." He reminded her quietly.

She pulled back from him, smiling. Her eyes held a challenge for him. His heart thrilled to see her spirit returning. "My great king Leonidas. If you will race me to the other side of the pool and win, Sparta will have its queen."

Leonidas had never swam faster in his life.

* * *

The race was over quickly, and Gorgo had gone on to claim that she had simply let Leonidas win so that his royal pride would not be damaged; if the king had been beaten by a woman then Sparta would be doomed. 

They rested together on his cloak beneath the tree, simply listening to the flow of the nearby river. Leonidas held Gorgo against him as they lounged, content as overfed cats. They had held each other in the water, swimming and teasing each other. He had not taken her; he had been tempted but the image of the Ephors probing her womanhood so roughly had flared into his mind.

_No. It is too soon, I do not wish to hurt her..._

A breeze swept over them, lifting her hair and whipping it into his face. Leonidas smiled as he patted it back into place. He stroked her back and felt gooseflesh rise at his touch. They had dried the water from their bodies, but the night had come upon them, and they were still naked.

Leonidas reached to bring his father's cloak over them to act as a blanket. Gorgo curled closer against him and sighed. "In the morning, we will journey back to Sparta. I will speak to my father about the priests for our wedding." He said idly.

Gorgo nodded against him. "I never thought I would be queen. Even if my father petitioned me, I hadn't thought I would be chosen." She confided to him.

He smiled, even though she could not see him in the dark. "You thought yourself unworthy?"

"I thought you would not see me as a woman, but just as Gorgo, your friend."

Leonidas shifted beneath her. "You are still my friend. You always will be."

"Is love to be forbidden between the king and queen, Leonidas?"

"No. My father and mother's marriage was arranged, they had not laid eyes on each other but two days before their wedding ceremony. There had been respect and civility between them at first- if they were not true friends they were at least kind when alone. He told me they had grown to feel for each other only after their first son had been born. Love is not forbidden to any Spartan, Gorgo, whether slave or king."

Gorgo said nothing else. She only kissed Leonidas before curling against him for sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Sunrise.

Leonidas awoke and was instantly alert at the sound of approaching hoofbeats. He moved to stand over Gorgo, ready to face off with whatever threat there might be. The woman woke and moved to cover herself with the cloak that had acted as a blanket only moments before. She stood behind Leonidas, her heart pounding.

_Who is coming? Have the Ephors sent for me?_

They had worked themselves up for nothing, however, as the rider became clearer as he approached. It was only Dilios, riding Leonidas's own horse. He smiled as he came to them and easily dismounted. "My apologies, sire. King Androcles ordered me to take your horse and search the area for you."

Leonidas nodded, feeling foolish. He had taken Gorgo away and likely held up the journey back to Sparta; behaving like a love-sick adolescent was not proper conduct for a king. No matter- the need for such foolishness was behind them. Leonidas glanced over to Gorgo and smiled only slightly. They would be married soon, with no reason to sneak off to be alone.

_I can have her whenever I please..._

He shook his head, "No need to apologize, Dilios. I know my father might have been worried, it is I who should make amends to all the men for disappearing."

Dilios looked over his shoulder to Gorgo who, though draped in her king's cloak, was obviously naked beneath. "I think in the circumstances, the men might understand."

Leonidas frowned, and reached over to replace the leather at his waist and the scarlet cloak over his shoulders.

Gorgo smiled at Dilios, her cheeks flushing. "Good morning, Dilios of Sparta. Thank you for finding us."

Dilios smiled at her in return as Leonidas dressed. It would have been inappropriate to tell her how relieved he was that she had been set free by the Ephors, as she had been his friend for years, ever since she had aided him just after a battle, saving his life.

Dilios did not say so, but in Gorgo he could see the potential for a wonderful queen and he was happy for Leonidas to have found such a good woman.

Simply, he said all he could. "We are glad to have you back, my lady."

She smiled back to him. "Thank you, Spartan. It will be wonderful to return home."

Leonidas moved to her and touched her shoulder. "Then let us return at once. The journey back will be quicker, and once we return we can begin wedding preparations."

Gorgo smiled, eager to begin her new life with Leonidas as her husband, her king.

* * *

"It's about time you two rejoined us," King Androcles called out to them upon their return. 

The other warriors moved in from their posts to see Leonidas arrive at the camp, riding his stallion with Gorgo seated in front of him in the saddle. Dilios walked by their side, easily keeping pace. The Spartans cheered their return as they dismounted. Androcles embraced his son and kissed Gorgo on her forehead, a gesture of his approval.

"For all the trouble you've caused, Gorgo, I hope you prove to have been worth it all once you take the crown," Androcles told her sternly, though there was a smile in his eyes.

Gorgo bowed her head to him as Leonidas rolled his eyes at his father's teasing.

"She will be one of Sparta's finest queens, father. Now she must be dressed as such,"

Leonidas took her hand and led her to the palace servants that had prepared Gorgo and the helot for presentation to the Ephors. "My intended queen needs a robe for the journey back to Sparta," he told them. "I'm afraid my cloak is unworthy to be worn by such a vision."

Gorgo couldn't help but laugh at her friend, soon to be her husband. "Leonidas, when have you ever been such a poet?"

He smiled at her, and nudged her in the ribs with his elbow. "Perhaps being with you makes me feel inspired," he teased her back. "You are as beautiful as Aphrodite! As giving as Demeter! My queen, my wife, you will be my Hera," he groused.

Playfully, Gorgo slapped at his arm. "Leonidas!"

He left her in the attendance of smiling servants and returned to his father. The other warriors, all of whom he had fought beside in battle, smiled at him and left the two kings to speak in private. "Father, I apologize for making off with Gorgo alone last night. We were just swimming-"

Androcles held up his hand. "There is no need to explain yourself to me, my son. You are a grown man and once we return to Sparta there will be no more reason to put off taking your crown. It takes a certain strength to challenge so many years of tradition, but I should have known that if anyone were to stand up against those so powerful as the Ephors, it would have been you. You have been ready to be king for some time already; all that was missing was your queen."

Leonidas smiled. "Thank you, father."

"I speak the truth. Your mother would have been proud to see the man you've become."

"Just as I have been,"

Both Leonidas and Androcles turned to find Gorgo stepping in close to them, her strong body now clad in a linen robe of pale blue. Leonidas would have preferred her naked once more, but with so many soldiers about them he might have gone mad from the effort to keep their eyes turned away.

_Yes, the robe is best for now._

Leonidas reached forward to take her hands into his. "I've watched you grow from girl to woman and now I can't imagine taking another woman as my queen."

Androcles smiled. "Well, then. It pleases me greatly that you will wed- I will have a scount go ahead of us to Sparta, all the way to the palace to begin preparations for a royal wedding, followed by a coronation."

It was a myth began by jealous Athenians and the even more envious Trojans that Spartans were unable to show enjoyment of life. Their people were strong, it was true- strength was what made Sparta great but love and expression had never been denied to them. A smile or laughter had never been seen as a sign of weakness; joy was as welcome in Sparta as it was anywhere else in all of Greece.

Leonidas kissed Gorgo's cheek amid the cheers of his fellow warriors and the king._  
_


	10. Chapter 10

Gorgo tried not to stare at herself in the bronzed mirror mounted on the wall within her chambers, but it was very difficult. She had never seen herself in such a way before. Attending servants moved about her, fixing a stray curl of hair or snipping at a loose string in her wedding robes, but Gorgo was lost to them.

It was her wedding day- the day she would become the wife of Leonidas and the queen of all Sparta.

She had never thought of herself as ugly; she had been told by her parents, her brothers and enough suitors in her calf-love years that she was pretty, even beautiful. Leonidas himself had told her so. But striking enough to be queen? Was she capable enough? Strong enough to rule when Leonidas would be away from the city?

Gorgo felt that it was a swarm of bees in her stomach- no delicate butterflies for her.

Then there were the other, more personal fears that claimed her mind.

The wedding night. She had seen Leonidas that day in the pool beside the river; when he'd taken her into his arms, she had felt him.

_He was..._

Gorgo shook her head, banishing the image of her king. She didn't want to think of their coupling and the pain she knew would come of it. There were other consequences that the night may bring. Would she birth him a healthy babe? Would she be a good mother? What would happen if none of their children were male heirs to the throne of Sparta? What if none of their children passed the inspection after birth and were thrown off the mountain cliff to die in the valley below?!

Gorgo felt the ground tilt beneath her feet.

_I cannot think this way...the queen of Sparta must be stoic, confident in her city and herself...Leonidas will not wed a frightened girl..._

Gorgo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The time for worry would come later. She urged herself to think of the festivities to come. A royal wedding! A coronation! Feasts and dancing, a city-wide celebration!

Again, she looked at herself in the bronzed mirror. The servants had dressed her in robes of pale blue and the brightest of white. There was gold stitching along the hem of her skirts to match the necklace at her throat. It had been her mother's. Gorgo remembered how it was Leonidas that had held her when she'd finally cried for Ancantha.

He had told her to be strong, and that her mother would bless her from the afterlife.

It could be thanks to her mother then, that Leonidas had chosen her as his queen and fought the Ephors to have her.

Gorgo thought of the Ephors that had "inspected" her for purity and shuddered. Would it be that way with Leonidas when they were finally alone together?

She sent a silent plea to Aphrodite for courage and for the knowledge of how best to please the man that would, before the day was through, be her husband.

* * *

Leonidas smiled as he saw Gorgo enter the wedding temple. 

In all their time together, he had seen her in beautiful garments of all colors and styles. Red for the visiting Trojans, gold for the Athenians, she had worn green for the leader of Corinth and deep violet for the prince of Olympia. As a young noblewoman, it was only proper that she be dressed to fit the occasion.

Never before had he thought to see her in wedding robes.

He could feel his pulse quicken slightly at the sight of her. The palace servants had painted her face, but unlike the creature of the Ephors, she looked more beautiful than ever before with gold dusting her cheeks and lining about her eyes.

_My queen...my wife...my love..._

Leonidas took her hands into his and nodded for the priest to begin reciting the wedding rites.

He barely heard the words spoken by the old man's raspy voice, and Leonidas wouldn't have care if he did. His eyes and mind were focused on the young woman before him. Gorgo was not looking into his eyes, rather she was staring directly at his chest. He wondered if she was nervous or worse, fearful of him and what they both knew was to come.

The priest declared that the wedding was complete, and blessed them as King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo of Sparta.

What followed was a blur to both of them. They were congratulated by the kings and leaders of other cities invited for the feasts, by King Androcles and the members of the Senate. The next hours were a whirlwind of greeting the people by riding through the city in a flowered parade, giving blessings to the gods and holding court to their guests.

Leonidas sat on one side of his father, while Gorgo sat on the other, and he could see that she appeared happy, even if very tired. He leaned over to the king, "Father, would you mind taking over for a time? I wish to see Gorgo alone."

Androcles nodded. "Yes, I suppose this has been a busy day- too busy even to speak to your new wife! Go, Leonidas, I will handle the rest of the festivities for tonight. Go now, but remember that you will take the crown tomorrow, as well as your queen."

Leonidas nodded his thanks and moved to Gorgo. "Will you walk with me?"

Her face brightened with relief, "Oh, yes Leonidas, I would love to."

He smiled and took her hand to lead her from the noise and spectacle of the dancers brought in from Delphi- if pressed, Leonidas would openly admit that he preferred the quiet twilight alone with Gorgo to the raucous parties a king was often obligated to provide. He knew that he could adjust just as his father and grandfather had before him, but for now he was content to walk with her as it felt they had hundreds of times in the past.

Leonidas took her small hand into his own as they walked the garden paths. "Gorgo, are you happy?"

He felt concerned for her happiness- it was a husband's duty, was it not?

She hesitated slightly. "I am not...unhappy." She said uneasily. Leonidas was reminded of his own words to his father, years ago.

"I understand. One day a young healer, the next you are the Ephors' Oracle and then days after that you are wife to the king of all Sparta. It is a heavy burden to bear." He mused, more to himself than to her.

Gorgo stopped walking and Leonidas stopped as well, turning to face her. "Becoming your wife is no burden to me, Leonidas." She declared. "For months I had longed for your eyes to see me as more than simply Gorgo your friend, but I have never thought that...that my wish would be granted and that you would choose me. I fear your disappointment." Gorgo confessed.

Leonidas shook his head. "No, Gorgo. Do not fear disappointing me. I chose you."

"But what if-?"

Leonidas moved to bring her into his arms. "Gorgo, do not think of the worst things. Today we are wed, tomorrow we shall rule. Smile for me," he urged her, stroking her arms.

Gorgo took a deep breath, smiling slightly. She wanted to please him, she wanted nothing more than to be his wife, it was just difficult to remember that Leonidas was her friend as well as her king.

_I have known this man for years and he has my heart- I fear that he would crush it should I disappoint him_.

* * *

Leonidas lead Gorgo into the royal bedchambers, newly furnished and made to please all the senses. Incense perfumed the air and moonlight slipped in through the curtained windows. He wanted Gorgo to be comfortable in what was to come. He would take her body, but if her heart was not with him...it would not be right. 

He kissed her, thrilling to feel her respond to him. His arms curled about her waist, holding her to him as he had wanted for weeks. How could he have ever thought of the women bidded to him in the scrolls? He would burn them all in the morning!

In the dim light of only five candles, Gorgo allowed him to undress her and she watched as he then shed his own clothes. Her heart began to pound in both fear and anticipation, but Leonidas made no rough move against her. He only held her in his arms for a time in a stong embrace.

"I have something for you, wife." He whispered against her temple, pausing in between kisses.

Gorgo felt herself relaxing slightly, both from the wine she'd taken at dinner and the gentle pressure of his hands resting on the small of her back. She kissed his throat. "What, another gift?"

He nodded. "Of a sort."

Leonidas pulled back from her and fetched a small carved box off of a low table against the wall. He brought it to her and withdrew a leather cord threaded through a large pointed fang. Gorgo gasped at him, "Leonidas, is this...?"

"Yes, the wolf's tooth. Will you wear it for me?"

Gorgo nodded and bent her head forward, her answer plain. Leonidas looped it over her head, lifting her hair to secure it about her neck. "Now you are truly my wife." He smiled. "Please, wear it when I am away from Sparta."

Gorgo shook her head. "I will wear it even when you are here, husband."

Leonidas leaned forward and kissed her once more, happy that Gorgo no longer seemed uneasy with being his woman. There would be trials before them, he knew this, but for once Leonidas wanted to leave Sparta and his responsibilities behind.

He didn't want to be a king. For tonight, he wanted to be a man.

He lifted Gorgo and laid her down on the bed they would share. When she cried out at their first joining, Leonidas felt that he had been pierced as well. His heart ached for her pain, but he could only soothe her with words and gentle touches as he moved against her.

When it was over, Leonidas moved to lay on his back and brought Gorgo against him, almost so that she was lying atop him. Her long body molded to fit the shape of his own. He touched her face and found the wetness of tears there. "I am sorry, Gorgo."

She said nothing, but burried her face against the side of his throat. Her breathing was slightly ragged, as was his own. He stroked her back in an effort to comfort her; Leonidas was pleased that it seemed to work. After a few moments, her breathing did become even, and eventually she fell asleep.

It took much longer, but in time Leonidas fell asleep as well.


	11. Chapter 11

Leonidas awoke slowly, pulling himself away from sleep with great reluctance. The king's bed was warm, not only from the thick blankets, but also from the hot, slender body of the woman resting against him. He opened one eye to see that it was far too early in the morning to be up and alert- it was still dark outside, he could allow himself to sleep for perhaps one hour more.

He knew that today was their coronation- he and Gorgo would forever more be the King and Queen of all Sparta.

Fear did not grip him. Leonidas knew this would come to pass from the moment of his birth. It was the king that would lead Sparta into battles against foreign tyranny and lead it into peaceful negotiations with neighboring city-states. He thought of his agoge and all the training he'd gone through once returning home from the wilds. So much preparation had gone towards making him into a worthy king- a man that ruled with a strong fist and an understanding heart.

He looked down to Gargo's sleeping face and felt his lips quirk into a small smile beneath his beard.

_She will make a fine queen and a fine wife...soon, she will be a fine mother..._

Leonidas wondered if he had seeded her womb during the night, and then frowned. He had become a husband only hours before, and in several more hours he would become king- worlds of responsibility rested on his shoulders. He wanted to wait before becoming a father- just long enough so that he could adjust to his seat of power. Leonidas knew that it would not take long for him to become accustomed, yet all the same he dared not enter fatherhood if he was not able to give enough attention to the child.

_Yet, it is still possible that Gorgo carries my heir..._

Visions of pretty little girls and strong boys filled his mind. Names for them all occurred to him, but Leonidas shook the thought away. He stretched slightly beneath her, simply shifting to a more comfortable position.

_Yes, I will sleep only one more hour..._

* * *

Only minutes later, Leonidas distantly registered that Gorgo was in bed with him, and she was moving away. He could hear the soft hiss of her skin moving against the sheets as she moved across the bed. He did not wake, even as he heard her soft footsteps moving about their bedroom. Rather, he could not wake- he was half way between sleep and alertness. There was no need for him to snap into focus- this was no battlefield; he was in the royal bedchamber, today he would take the crown of Sparta. 

More images came into his mind, small dreams of days he recalled from his childhood before he was taken away to his agoge. He'd been permitted to make friends with the children of Spartan citizens, he remembered their names and the games they had played, he recalled his first horse, he remembered his mother. She had occasionally taken him to the golden wheat fields with servants for a small picnic when the king was tending to his court of noblemen or busy in his dealings with the Senate. It had been a treasured time.

The cackling, diseased faces of the Ephors flashed into his mind, and Leonidas jerked awake. Fully aware, he rubbed a hand over his face, angry with himself for wasting time dreaming when he should have been preparing for his coronation. He only had to select which garments to wear when presented to the people, and prepare a small speech but all the same Leonidas hated idling away on such an important day.

He threw off the blankets and looked down at himself. There was blood on his manhood.

Startled, Leonidas looked to the bedsheets. There was a small amount of blood smeared there as well.

He rose from the bed and called for his servants. They came quickly, all of them chattering congratulations and wishing him well, but he hardly heard them at all as he took the first linen robe offered to him. "Quickly, where is my wife?" He asked.

Aetos had been the first servant of Leonidas since he had returned to Sparta after his trials in the wild. He was ever vigilant, and had taken Leonidas as his responsibility from his birth. "She rose before you, my lord. She took a robe and when I saw her last, she had slipped down into the palace gardens."

Leonidas nodded his thanks and moved through the palace, dodging the well-wishes of servants and their visiting guests from the celebration feast the night before. He moved quickly, and yet not without the dignity of his position. Finally, he made it outside after being held up by his father and a Trojan dignitary. It was early in the day and already the sky was bright and hot.

He searched the gardens for her, but she was not there. Leonidas thought of her cry of pain from the night before and began to hate himself for the pleasure he'd taken in her body. It was an odd thing, to be angry with himself for taking a husband's rights, but Leonidas would not approach her again if his touch brought her such pain.

Why then, did the whore from the soldier's tavern seem to receive pleasure from him?

Leonidas felt his mind swim in confusion. Despite all he had learned of Spartan custom in courting, women were still strange to him. He felt more at home on the battlefield than in dealing with such subtleties of the female form. He had only known that his queen would be a virgin on their wedding night, never taken by another man; Leonidas had not known that in taking her he would bring her pain and spill her blood!

He brought a hand to his hair in frustration. _Gorgo hides from me in fear..._

"Leonidas, are you going to pace the gardens all day? Have you forgotten what day this is?"

He turned at the sound of his father's voice. "Oh, yes father...have you seen Gorgo?"

Androcles frowned slightly and shrugged. "She is likely being prepared for the coronation ceremony, as should you."

Leonidas wanted to ask his father about virgins and if, when they are first taken, if they were meant to bleed and cry, but out of respect to Gorgo, Leonidas kept quiet. Instead he followed his father back into the palace.

* * *

Servants swarmed over Leonidas the moment he stepped into the preparation chamber. Sizing his robes and consulting which colors to use for the embroidery and beading, bathing him, trimming his hair and beard, oiling his skin. Leonidas knew the importance of appearance for a king, but he still preferred not to be trussed up like a woman. 

He could only wonder at what Gorgo was being forced to endure for her own preparations.

Much the same, as it turned out.

Gorgo sighed slightly as she chose a scarlet robe to wear for her coronation. She knew that the queen's crown was a thin band of gold to be worn in the hair, and so she chose gold embroidery and beading to match. She felt listless and nervous, the hornets in her stomach had returned with a vengeance.

Gorgo thought of Leonidas and what had happened between them the night before- he had taken her virginity, marking her as his wife in the basest sense. She could no longer lie to herself- she had enjoyed touching him and being touched by him. His eyes had devoured her as if she were a standing goddess- Aphrodite risen from the sea.

She glanced down to finger the necklace he had had made for her, the slain wolf's tooth. She knew the meaning it held for him, all the words he would never be able to say to her unless they were well and truly alone. A Spartan king could not go about acting as a poet; Leonidas was a warrior, born and bred, the only man in Greece that could take on the crown.

Gorgo took a deep breath. It was an enormous responsibility for them both to take on, but unlike Leonidas, she had not been trained to be a queen. She was daughter to an advisor, a noblewoman by birth, but she was no warrior. She was not a leader or the proper wife a king should have. She felt like an imposter.

_If Leonidas should fail, the blame will be upon my head..._

"Now, now, no tears! You are filled with joy but the tears will spoil your complexion," an older maidservant scolded her. The older woman took Gorgo into a warm embrace. "Today you become the queen, my child, you should be smiling!"

Gorgo was reminded of her mother Acantha, and struggled not to sob even more so. The older woman stroked her hair. "Come now, child, you must not let your nerves get the better of you. Do you know that I have been here in the palace since before your king was born? I helped to prepare the late queen Dorinda if you can believe it!"

Gorgo pulled back to look at her, "You did?"

The old woman nodded. "Oh yes, and she was just as nervous as you- perhaps even more so. Her marriage to king Androcles was arranged, you see. But you have known the king for years, it is common fact that you are friends. If it is true that he opposed the Ephors for you, well, I think I can say that this is a love match."

Gorgo took a deep breath. "Oh, yes, it is a love match. You are right, we have been friends for many years...and if I disappoint him, it will be that much more of a betrayal to him..."

The older woman cupped her face. "Little Gorgo, you will only disappoint the king if you fail to try. Who knows? You might live to be the finest queen Sparta has ever known."

Gorgo knew not what to make of the old woman's words, but she could feel in her heart the woman's sincerity.

Gorgo knew that she had to overcome her fears if she was to be queen and, more importantly, the wife of Leonidas.


	12. Chapter 12

Leonidas had been pacing the coronation temple of the palace, waiting for Gorgo to be presented to him. He put his hand to one of the pillars, and he thought of his father and so many other men of his house that had paced the same floor, and touched the same pillar. He knew that it was normal to be tense and restless; Androcles himself had told Leonidas that on his own coronation day he was nearly sick with anxiety.

Leonidas was declared king by priests and his own father. He had no fear. He was ready; he had fought to the death to claim his birthright in the agoge, and had spent many years studying strategy, philosophy and the laws of Sparta. The people adored Leonidas; he and the Senate were rarely at odds. The Ephors...well, there had been no love lost between them. He cared not- a city could not be dependent on the whims of lecherous, demented old mystics.

The crown held no intimidation to him. The source of Leonidas's nerves was his queen, Gorgo herself.

She had left the marriage bed early in the morning, before Leonidas had awoke, and she had hidden away from him for the whole day. Did she fear him for the pain he'd caused the night before? Leonidas felt his stomach twinge at the thought. He hadn't known she would be hurt, but how was it to be avoided? Gorgo had become a wife and the queen of all Sparta within one full day. He understood that she would be overwhelmed; she had not been prepared from birth as he had, it must seem an enormous responsibility.

Still, it is not proper that she hide from him. That they had known each other for so long and she would still choose to hide from him was an ill-telling omen. Leonidas promised to himself that he would allay her fears the moment that they were alone together. For the sake of Sparta, he had to.

There was a slight comotion and Leonidas looked back up to the main palace. He could see several servants bustling about, heading toward him. Gorgo was among them. The breath caught in his throat and once more, Leonidas had to wonder if he had wed a woman or a goddess. Her body was draped in scarlet robes, the sway of the material flashing gold in the sun. The thin band of a Spartan queen's crown glinted in the bright daylight; Gorgo was his queen now.

She came to stand before him in the small temple, and allowed Leonidas to take her hands into his. "My queen," He breathed, touching her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

Gorgo smiled softly. "My king," she returned.

The priest, a wizened old man, approached them. Blessings to the gods were murmered, and both the king and queen were annointed with the oil of a flower the grew on the banks of the river Evrotas. Androcles moved forward to embrace his son and kiss his daughter in-law, blessing their union and thier future rule.

As it had been the day before, the king and queen were paraded throughout the city to greet their loyal following, and then treated to a great feast where they were entertained by the performers brought in by their guests, all foreign Greek rulers.

Unlike the day before, Leonidas and Gorgo were not able to slip off to be on their own. As the King and Queen, they were expected to remain for the entire celebration; to leave early would be considered rude. It would not be a wise thing to insult the other leaders on the day of their coronation.

All of Sparta depended on them now.

* * *

Several hours into the early morning, the celebration thankfully began to die down. Leonidas took Gorgo's hand and lead her from the grand hall, moving towards their bedroom. They both swayed slightly on their feet from the wine that had been served, but it could not be said that either of them were truly drunk. 

Leonidas drew her into the royal bedchambers and brought her into his arms. "My queen, my life, my love..." He murmered against her throat as he kissed her. As king, custom dictated that he would not behave towards his wife as any other man. He would listen to her words, but not touch her; he would address her with respect or perhaps even admiration, but not with love or flowery prose.

When they were alone, they were free to simply be a man and a woman.

Gorgo giggled as his beard tickled her neck when he kissed her there. "Leonidas, husband...I am sorry that I hid from you, I was afraid..." She confided, her arms wrapped around his neck.

They swayed together in their embrace, almost as if dancing. He pressed his forehead to hers. "You had no need to fear me, Gorgo. I am sorry for hurting you last night, I never meant to hurt you."

She shook her head. "You did what a man must. I should not have run. I will not, never again."

Leonidas touched her long mane of hair and then moved his hands down to her waist. "Will it pain you every time?" He asked, concerned. An heir had to be born, but he did not think that he had it in himself to harm her every night.

Gorgo shook her head. "No. I spoke to the maidservants. They said that in time, the pain will come to pass. Pleasure will soon take its place." She added, her cheeks growing heated and red at his grin.

"You are sure of this?"

She nodded. "There were many servants attending to me today, Leonidas. Many of them were mothers, married for years. They claimed that it was fortunate we knew each other for so long before we had been wed, that it might aid us."

Leonidas brought her closer into his arms, and pressed his lips against hers. "My heart is yours, Gorgo. You are my wife and my queen."

She laughed as his hand brushed her hip. "Leonidas, Spartan king. You tease me!"

He nodded, feeling suddenly playful. "I am permitted to tease you, play with you, do all manner of things to you in the privacy of our chambers." He declared, reaching for her.

Gorgo sidestepped his advance. "If that is true, then I am allowed to do the same, my great king."

Leonidas lunged, and swept her into his arms, carrying her towards the bed. He carefully laid her down on the soft sheets, and looked over her. "You are a goddess in the form of a woman. Perhaps the most stubborn, maddening woman in all of Greece."

Gorgo laughed at him. "Yes, but I am your woman."

He came to lay on his side next to her. "My woman," he agreed. His large hand moved to rest on her hip. "Will it pain you tonight?"

Gorgo moved to lay on her back. "It may, but it will not be the pain of last night. You can have me, Spartan, if it will please you." She whispered to him.

Leonidas moved over her for a kiss. "Not tonight, Gorgo. It will never please me to cause you pain. Sleep, for tomorrow will be the first day of our reign. We will need to be well rested."

Gorgo frowned. "Leonidas? You do not-?"

He reached to her and stripped away her robe, leaving her naked on the bed. He removed his own robe and came to lay down beside her once more, molding his body to hers. In a gesture of possession, he cupped one of her breasts and then he laid his hand upon her womb to reassure her. "I do want you, Gorgo, but I hurt you last night. I will wait until your body is able to take me again. Sleep, my wife..." He implored, bringing her closer to him.

Gorgo put her hand over his and then, obediently, fell asleep with her husband, her king.


	13. Chapter 13

Life within the palace was peaceful, yet never idle. Several months into Leonidas's kingship, he had grown into his role with ease. The former king Androcles had remarked that his son had shed his youthful arrogance, replacing it with level-headed reason, and not a moment too soon. Leonidas had just finished negotiations on a trade agreement with a neighboring city; he and the other leader had cooperated to develop a system that would benefit all the people that depended on them.

Leonidas stood on the balcony of his bedchambers, staring out over the city. He had just returned from his afternoon walk through the Spartan marketplace. He liked to see the people; the proud young mothers with their strong boys, so determined to prove themselves. Bare hours ago, Leonidas had come upon a group of boys playing, and their leader had challenged him.

_Youthful arrogance, indeed_, he thought with a small smile. He had taken the boy's challenge and knocked him onto his back in the blink of an eye. He'd then pulled the boy to his feet and explained the importance of teamwork in the Spartan army, and then gone on to show them a few simple battle strikes. Leonidas knew that in a few short years, they would recall his words once they were entered into their own trials in the agoge.

He thought of those boys, and wondered if tonight would be the night that he and Gorgo would conceive an heir. They had adjusted to each other, and Leonidas prized her above any other woman. So deep was his devotion, he often failed to recognize the women of Sparta; he felt more or less indifferent to any female other than his wife, and he knew it was the same for her, he had witnessed her complete awareness of him and her own indifference to the other men she dealt with in the palace.

Soon, he knew it had to be soon, there would be an heir to share her body. Leonidas frowned slightly. His mother had died while carrying a child- from what his father had explained, her death had occurred suddenly, without symptom or warning. Androcles had mentioned that the late queen's body had been passing blood, so much that she had died from the amount spilled. The startling image of Gorgo, swollen with child and covered in blood entered his mind.

Repulsed by the thought, Leonidas shook his head. _No. Gorgo will not die, I will never allow it!_

If his queen should die from their child...Leonidas knew that if such a thing were to occur, he would likely go mad. It happened rarely in Sparta, that a woman died giving birth, leaving her husband a broken shell of a man. Spartans were reputed as stoic, unyeilding warriors and while thier fighting prowess was second to none in all the known world, no man was made of stone.

Gorgo had proven herself to be a fine wife and queen, and no man was more proud than her father Cadmus. He had gone off to meet with leaders far outside of Sparta- he had not expected to see Gorgo again until after her service to the Ephors was complete and upon his return he had learned that she had become queen!

Amazement and joy had flooded his features upon seeing her, and he had been quick to bless the gods that she had been spared the duties of an Oracle. Leonidas smiled in contentment as he glanced down into the gardens. Androcles, Cadmus and a few men of the Senate were down there, laughing with each other.

The friendships of the kings and the Senate were based on mutual respect and admiration, one balanced the other.

He turned as the sound of another entering the room, and smiled to see it was Gorgo. She had also matured a great deal since taking her crown, near a year ago. She had lost her girlish insecurities, both in his bed and as the secondary leader to Sparta. The woman was confident, strong in her own right, and no longer the girl he had known, she was now the woman he'd always known her to be.

She smiled and rushed into his arms, kissing his throat and then resting her head on his shoulder, simply allowing him to hold her. "Leonidas, have you many duties tonight? Any visitors or meetings with the Senate?" She asked, after a few moments of peaceful silence.

Leonidas drew back from her. "No, not tonight, thankfully. What is it, my queen?" He grinned hungrily at her. "Do you wish to 'practice' tonight?" He asked her. It was a shared joke between them, that though they had not yet conceived an heir, they would 'practice' every night until a child came of their efforts.

Gorgo looked down, her cheeks suddenly red, as she always blushed when he spoke of making love to her. Leonidas found it amusing that she still held embarassment at the mere mention of it, but he watched as her hands moved forward to rest over her womb. "Leonidas, we need not practice any longer."

Joy, fierce and proud swept over the king. "You are...you carry my child?" He asked, taking her hands into his.

Gorgo smiled, "It is my child as well, I should think." She teased him.

Leonidas kissed her deeply. "When did you know?"

"I only just realized after consulting the midwife that serves the Senate wives. I gave a blessing to Demeter before coming to tell you. A child, Leonidas, the Spartan heir!" She gushed, kissing his face and holding him close to her.

Leonidas held her and guided her to the bed, where he had her sit down. "You should not work yourself up," he said, suddenly concerned, though no less thrilled. He could feel his heart pounding with joy within his chest. "I'll have servants see to your every need, you should be put on bedrest..."

Gorgo frowned at him and stood up when he wished for her to remain seated. "No, Leonidas. I won't stay in bed for months like an invalid."

"But you could be hurt, the child could be lost," he protested.

Gorgo shook her head. "No, Leonidas. All the women of Sparta take greater risks when they are days from the birth; have you forgotten that I am queen? I cannot appear weak to the people."

"But-"

"I asked the midwife, husband. It is safe to move and go about my own duties- only when my body swells with the child will I need to rest more often, but I will still be able to act as the queen." Gorgo assured him.

Leonidas regarded her for several long moments. "There is nothing I can say that will stop you, is there?"

Gorgo smiled at him. "No, Leonidas, there is not."

He nodded at her and took her hands once more. "I knew there was a reason that I chose you as my queen."

* * *

They retired for the night after announcing the birth to their father and the Senate, amid the joy rushing throughout the palace, they retired after giving blessings to the gods. Leonidas sacraficed a fine bull to seal the blessing, and ensure safe growth for the child within the womb of his queen. 

He sat in their bed and watched as she shed her robes. His eyes absorbed her naked flesh. The only thing adorning her long golden body was the necklace he'd given to her the year before, the night of their wedding. Leonidas would give her another gift in the morning, a token of his gratitude that she would bear his heir.

Leonidas watched her as she moved toward the bed, his gaze affixed to her stomach. It was the same as it had been since he had first seen her naked, that day in the river. In truth, he felt nervous to touch her now. A woman with child was a delicate, dangerous thing. In Leonidas's mind, if Gorgo so much as became startled, she might lose their child and very well die in his arms. He remained very still as she moved to lay down beside him.

They were silent for a time, listening to each other breath in the darkness. Gorgo could feel her husband's eyes on her, staring even when he could not see her. "Leonidas. Tell me what troubles you," she implored.

"Nothing troubles me, Gorgo." He said.

"Liar. You fear for the child. I know what happened to Sparta's former queen." She said. Even as she said the words, regret fell upon her for saying them. Despite the dark, she could feel Leonidas withdraw from her. "She died, my love, but you must not live in fear that the same fate shall fall upon me."

Leonidas was quiet for a time. Though he was a fine king, he felt he had never known such immense responsibility. "How can I not? Danger is present in every breath we take. You and this child are my life."

Gorgo reached out in the dark and took his hand, placing it over her heart. "I will not die from a turn in the winds, my king. I am strong, you know I am."

His hand moved from her heart to cup her face. He kissed her. "Yes, I know you are strong." He took a deep breath, feeling more comfortable and almost lighthearted. "Is there a way you can tell if the child will be-?"

Gorgo kissed his throat. "A little boy or girl? No, not this soon. The midwife claimed that there might be ways to tell, but none of them are sure."

Leonidas nodded. "I see. Have you thought of names?"

She fell silent and touched his face, smoothing his beard. "I have thought of names, but I wish to wait until after the child is..."

Gorgo did not have to finish. Perhaps in all the excitement, Leonidas had forgotten the harshest of all Spartan tests; no child in all the city was permitted to live without first being inspected. Those deemed worthy were able to live. Those who were not...

It was necessary to ensure the future of Sparta. The citizens could not be weak or deformed, too mishapen to fight as warriors but still able to breed more like themselves. Sparta was too powerful a city to allow itself to be defended by those seen as less than human. There had been no history of weakness or deformity in all of Leonidas's family, and none that he knew of in the house of Cadmus.

It was unlikely that a child of theirs would be weak or anything less than Spartan, but the fear remained that should the gods ever be offended, they could be cursed with misshapen or even stillborn heirs. Gorgo could not give a name to a child that might be cast off the jagged cliffs to die- to become attached to a babe, only to have it killed, would be a deadly strike to her heart.

Leonidas held her in the night, and spoke of the child no more. There was no need, for he knew that it would occupy Gorgo's mind until the day of the birth.


	14. Chapter 14

"They have been testing us, taunting Sparta for years. It's been small so far- stealing livestock and crop shares, but we have allowed this to go on for long enough," Leonidas declared grimly. "I was given a report this morning that fields have been burned, entire families robbed and slaughtered. I cannot allow this to continue. I will not."

The Senate began to murmur as Leonidas stood before them, awaiting their decision. He knew all the men in attendance, as had his father, but personal friendship would not overcome their duties to Sparta. He had the power to overturn their decisions, but it was always easier to have the Senate's agreement when it came to the city's military. Sparta's warriors were the greatest fighting force ever known to man, but every warrior in the army was a husband, a father and friend. War was a necessary evil in the world, and it was not prudent to rush into battle and risk losing soldiers.

However, Leonidas felt that his hands were tied. The farmers living on the outskirts were just as much of a Spartan as any man living within the city- as king, he could not stand by and allow his own people to be killed by rebels in the name of false diplomacy. The rebels and raiders, whoever they were, had taunted the sleeping beast of Sparta far too many times and would now face the deadliest force on earth.

Adrastos, a senior member of the Senate, stood up to act as the speaker. "King Leonidas, we too have heard the reports of murder on the outside borders of Sparta. We must know, have you any true strategy for dealing with these raiders?"

Leonidas had spent years studying the laws and philosophies that Sparta had been built upon, but in truth he was a man of simple tastes. As the murderers were not Spartan citizens, he would be well within his rights to kill them in order to best protect his city. He preferred this- why waste time talking when his people were being killed?

He straightened his back to address the Senate as a whole. "I will take ten soldiers from my first fleet; skilled trackers and scouts will find the enemy camp and establish a surrounding perimeter. We will keep watch until nightfall and strike them as they sleep, or we will strike when they move to attack another household. Given what we know, these rebels will not wait much longer before attacking our people again."

Many of the old men nodded their agreement. Leonidas knew that he had won their blessings.

* * *

"So you are going then. I knew you would." 

Leonidas turned to Gorgo. She had been standing on the balcony, and must have heard him enter their room and begin to approach her. She had not turned to address him. He put his hands over her shoulders. "Gorgo-"

"I know it is your duty. As king, you are the first warrior into battle."

He brought his hands around her waist. "No, my queen...these are raiders we are facing, not a true army. I go only to ensure that every last one of them is made to pay for the Spartan blood they have spilled."

At last, she turned to him. He glanced down to the small, rounded mound that was her womb. It had not been long since she had told him of the child that shared her body, but Leonidas was already so eager for his heir. He settled one of his large hands upon her flesh, hoping again to feel his child move.

Gorgo held his hand more firmly to her body. "No, Leonidas. It is too soon for the babe to kick."

He nodded, slightly disappointed. "I will not be gone long, Gorgo. Weeks, at most. I will return to you the same man I have always been."

She rounded on him, "But I will not be the same woman! I will be bigger, as round as a sphere and as swollen as a melon! You won't want what I have become, you'll take a slave as your whore, you'll take my babe away from me and-"

Leonidas gripped her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Gorgo! What is this madness you speak of?! Have you lost your mind? You must have forgotten that I chose you as my wife," he bit out.

Gorgo had been behaving strangely for the past few weeks, ever since her body began to grow fuller from the child. She avoided him during the day and slept further to her side of their bed at night. When she allowed him to touch her belly so that he might feel for his child, she often insisted that he was not doing it right and would leave in frustration. The midwife brought into the palace had assured them that it was safe for the babe if Leonidas were to take his wife again, so long as he was very gentle. Gorgo had seemed repulsed at the idea one moment and then eager for it the next; as of yet, Leonidas had stopped approaching her all together.

His wife began to cry, and Leonidas hated himself for becoming upset with her. He brought her closer into his arms and allowed her tears to fall upon the linen of his robe. Careful not to upset her further, he reached up and stroked her hair. He could not understand why she thought he would be so eager to take another woman; in fact, he could not understand why Gorgo had been so withdrawn and angry with him at all. It seemed every step he took would irritate her to no end, every breath he took lead her into further annoyance.

"Gorgo, Gorgo, you are my queen, my only love..." He crooned to her. Carefully, Leonidas backed her up to their bed and he had her lay back on the blankets there. Her face glistened with tears, her breasts and belly heaved slightly as she cried. Leonidas moved to lay on his side beside her, propping himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. "I want no other woman, and I would never dishonor you by taking another. There will only be one queen of Sparta. You and no other."

He rested his hand over the gentle bump of her belly, then slowly stroking up her body towards her face. Gorgo shivered and gasped when his hand passed over her breast. To Leonidas, the sound was akin to a call from one mate to another. He cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her. To his relief and satisfaction, Gorgo responded to him.

They simply kissed for a time, reacquainting themselves to each other. It had been a long time since Gorgo had allowed Leonidas to touch her as a husband, and he had been beginning to feel almosr desperate for the return of his wife. He would take what she would give, and not press her for more. He cared too much for Gorgo and for their child to risk upsetting her. The heir she carried was the future of all Sparta.

They parted, and Gorgo moved to present her back to him. Leonidas moved his body to mold her shape against his, and he reached around her waist to lay his hand over her belly. "I'm sorry, Leonidas. The midwife warned me months ago that I would become upset at the rustling of a feather, but I hadn't believed her- I laughed and told her that I was not the same as the other women she had seen to in the past. This is punishment for my arrogance! I've driven you to chasing raiders across Greece just so that you may find a bit of peace..."

Leonidas laughed softly against her hair. "No, no, Gorgo. I go because of my duty as king. I go to discourage any others from even thinking of attacking Spartan villages or farms again, to protect the people. I will think of you every day, Gorgo, and beg the gods to deliver me back home swiftly so that I may see you with our babe."

His woman was silent for a short time. "Leonidas, do you truly still want me?"

"Yes. You are...too close to see yourself clearly. You cannot see what I can. I see you, healthy and strong, growing ripe with my seed. You have the mother's glow about your face, your hair shines and your breasts have become even fuller. I would have to be a eunuch not to desire you." He laughed.

Despite herself, Gorgo laughed too. "Thank you, Leonidas. I think I only wished to hear you say that."

He drew her closer. "Then I will tell you every day."

They slept, yet somewhere in the night, Leonidas woke at the faint, tiny fluttering of the child beneath his palm.


	15. Chapter 15

Over fifty days had passed since Leonidas and his small band had departed from the city, intent on eradicating the rebels and raiders that had already killed hundreds of innocent Spartans. The days were blistering hot, the nights only slightly cooler. Leonidas and his fellow warriors hardly noticed the weather; they had edured all forms of hardships in their agoge, this was nothing in comparison.

As of yet they had found but traces of the raiders. A few footprints, an abandoned campsite, broken spears and arrowheads. In the king's estimation, they were perhaps three days from their quarry. Once word had spread that true warroriors, led by the king himself, had come to defend the citizens, the rebels had wisely run off. Their trail was erratic in an effort to confuse the Spartans chasing them, but it would do them no good.

The only thing that they had accomplished by prolonging the chase was to enrage the Spartans further. Leonidas was not the only man whose wife was with child. Dilios, the captain, and five of the other warriors were impatient to return back to their women and hopeful sons.

Leonidas sat on a smooth boulder, taking his turn on the perimeter watch as the man he'd replaced went off to sleep. The moon was full and bright in the night sky, it's perfect round shape reminding him of Gorgo's growing belly.

"My wife waits with child as well," Dilios had told him earlier that day. "Halcyone has born me two sons, and hopes this time for a girl. I think she is lonely for a daughter in the house."

Leonidas had smiled at his friend. "This will be my first. I hope for many children; sons, of course, but Gorgo once told me that she would someday want a daughter. I think women are like us- they want a child to take after them."

Dilios agreed. "You are correct, sire. Halcyone has told me that if Aphrodite answers her prayers and she is given a daughter, she will teach her all the secrets that she has learned in the kitchen. I hope only for another son."

Leonidas had raised his brows. "Why another son, Dilios? I have met your boys. They are large, fast and strong. The agoge will be child's play to them, they will be prize additions to my armies. Why not allow Halcyone a girl to share her cooking skill?"

Dilios had laughed then. "Because, if she should have a daughter, the girl will know the secret of attracting many suitors- Halcyone seduced me with her wonderful food. Once I had a meal with her family and learned that had cooked it all herself, I asked her father to give her to me that very night. If she passed on her secrets to a girl, all of Sparta's young men would be begging at my door!"

The men had laughed then, but Leonidas no longer felt so humorous.

Gorgo was with child; he wanted to be by her side, not rummaging around abandoned campsites searching for murdering scum. Suppose something happened while he was away? His child could be lost, his wife injured or worse!

He had to stop the grim thoughts, he had only to complete the task of tracking the raiders, and then he would return. His eyes burned out into the distance, his anger growing within, urging him to chase the rebels, faster and farther, all the way to the sea if it would only bring him back to Sparta.

* * *

Gorgo rested her arms on the balcony of the royal bedchambers; the grand rooms where she had slept alone for many nights. She stared at the moon, hoping that somehow Leonidas was watching it as well. It would connect them, in a way, even if neither of them were aware of it. 

She glanced down and pressed a hand to her bulging womb. The child was within, moving inside of her. It had began shortly after Leonidas had left the city to hunt down the raiders that were slaughtering Sparta's innocent people. Gorgo hoped it was a good omen that their child was so restless. It meant that the little boy or girl would be restless in life, always striving for greatness and earning pride. She had once dreamed that Leonidas would return, and kiss her belly just in time to feel their child kick.

It would be a great thing if he would return to her that very night, as their babe seemed more restless than usual.

* * *

Ten more days had passed, and Leonidas had still not returned to Sparta. 

Gorgo knew that he was Sparta- the world's- finest warrior, but how could she not worry? The raider killings might have been a diversion, a way of baiting him to leave the city, taking only a handful of his fellow soldiers. Could they all have walked into a trap? To be ambushed by hundreds?

She shuddered at the thought as images of bloodshed flashed through her mind.

"You must think only happy thoughts- otherwise, the poisonous worries of your mind may harm the child."

The words of the palace midwife were not so comforting. Gorgo knew that worrying over her husband for days on end was not healthy. She had gone about her queen's duties the same as she had before, and tried to keep herself as useful as she was able. As she began to swell, it was not so easy as it once was.

Still, there was time.

Leonidas would return to Sparta in time to see the birth of his child, the future heir to all of Sparta.

_He had to._


	16. Chapter 16

"These were the last of them, sire. Their leader has been captured for interrogation, the rest have been driven to the sea."

Leonidas turned to face the captain, his expression grim with purpose. "Good. Then we can begin the return journey to Sparta at once." It had been many days, over a hundred, since he had first left his city and his wife. The rebels had been clever in evading them, but no chase lasted forever. They had been caught when Dilios noticed their pattern of hiding during the day and moving along the foothills at night.

All of the men had been eager to get back to Sparta, and so they had been eager to cut through the raiders all the more quickly. Leonidas had led the attacks, each strike of his sword leading them closer to home and closer to their wives' embrace. The raiders had been a strange assembled group of insurgents, all of them hailing from different nations.

Obviously, the legends of Sparta's warriors had somehow escaped them and they had had no idea what they had been facing.

_They stood on this plain and taunted us. I've never before seen such fools_, Leonidas thought as he wiped the blade of his sword free of blood. Smiling slightly beneath his beard, he glanced around and saw that taking ten other warriors had indeed been unnecessary. One lone Spartan would have been enough to rid the countryside of these raiders. As it happened, Leonidas and each of his warriors had made a few kills, but the battle (such as it was) had been over in a matter of minutes.

The raiders were young, poorly trained and despite having robbed so many families, they had been far too ill-equipt to even hope facing off with true warriors. They had been lambs sent to the slaughter, a clear warning to any others that might think to attack Sparta's country farms. _No matter now_, Leonidas thought. _The raiders have been taken care of. No warriors of mine have been lost. It is time to return to our city._

* * *

The journey back to Sparta was not no long. Indeed, most of their time had been spent in pursuit of the rebels but now that the warriors were headed back home, the days passed with ease. 

The warriors even marched late into the night, greatly aided by the pale silver light of the full moon that hung above them in the midnight sky. He thought of Gorgo again at seeing the moon's perfect round shape. He knew that by the time he returned to Sparta and was presented to her, she would have grown much larger than the last time he had seen her. Their last night together, he had felt their child move beneath his hand.

Surely by now their babe was moving constantly, eager to be born and claim its birthright as the future king or queen of Sparta. Leonidas smiled softly at the thought, hoping that their child born would be a son. He anticipated fighting with this future king, sparring, teaching the boy how best to hold a spear and how to hunt for deer in the wilds. All would be useful for when the time came for the boy to take to his agoge trials.

Yes, Leonidas hoped for a son; he wouldn't know what to do with a daughter. What could he possibly do? He could not fight with a girl, he might injure her upon sparring. He knew nothing of female customs and had no true interest in such things. All a princess would be required to learn was how to present herself correctly to courts and then take in lessons of Spartan law and philosophy when she came of age. Until then, all a princess did was play with her precious pet animals and toys. Sparta would fall if its king began to play with weaved silk dolls!

_Please, Zeus, a beg you for a son...I would be lost with a daughter!_

* * *

Days passed and finally the men came over a hill and saw Sparta. Leonidas allowed them to cheer as they moved down the road leading to the city, their horses' hooves beating the earth like thunder. Dilios followed Leonidas to the palace once the other soliders were dismissed to their homes. The rebel leader was taken away to be questioned and then killed; there was no room for mercy in Sparta. 

"Why do you not return to your wife, Dilios? I'm sure you must miss Halcyone's cooking," Leonidas had joked to him as they'd made their way up the palace steps.

Dilios nodded. "I admit that I do, sire. Halcyone has been staying close to the midwife who resides within your palace; I wish to see if she is here before checking our house."

Leonidas nodded. "No bother. Perhaps you might wish to bathe before seeing her?" The king suggested, gesturing to the both of them. The battle and the journey had made them filthy- dust and dirt clung to their exposed, sweaty skin. Their hair had grown as matted as their beards, the dried blood of their enemy clung both to their clothes and to their skin.

Dilios glanced down at himself as if noticing his appearance for the first time. "Perhaps you are right, sire."

* * *

Servants had been called forward to bathe the king; they washed his body, oiled his skin and attended to his hair and beard. Gorgo had been told of his return, and despite his eagerness to see her, Leonidas was reluctant to allow her to see him as filthy as a common dog. He wished to embrace and kiss her, but no woman would have allowed him to touch her as filthy as he had been! 

Once he had dismissed the attending servants, Leonidas had felt refreshed and more than ready to see his queen. He went directly to their chambers, but she was not within, wiating for him as he had expected. He stood in their rooms for a moment, absorbing her delicate female scent.

_Gorgo, Gorgo, my wife and queen..._

He left their chambers to go down into the gardens; that was a place that had held private meaning to them for years, even before they were married, back when they had had their first meeting. Leonidas ran a hand through his newly cut hair and headed through the courtyard, instinct carrying him toward her.

As Leonidas moved, he tilted his head. He had thought he had heard...no, he _had_ heard something. He paused to listen. It was a sweet sound, taking on form and lyrics. A woman was singing. Smiling, Leonidas followed the sound, not at all surprised to find Gorgo sitting on the stone bench before the fountain; this was the place where he had told her of his intention to take her as his wife.

Her back was facing him, and Leonidas almost felt content to listen to her for a while more, but could not stand aside from her much longer. "I have never heard you sing,"

Gorgo turned to face him, her face lighting up as he had never seen before. "Husband!"

Leonidas moved to her side and embraced her tightly, surprised and somehow pleased to see how large her womb had grown in the time he was away chasing the rebels. Gorgo smiled at him and rested a hand over the large bump of her body. "Yes, didn't I tell you? As round as a sphere and as swollen as a melon!"

He laughed and carefully touched her, hoping to feel the babe move within. He felt nothing, but did not show disappointment. How could he, now that he was back in Sparta?

"I thought of you and our child every night that I could see the moon," he told her. "Its shape made me think of you, being so round and perfect."

Gorgo laughed, kissing him. "I am glad that you have come back, for I have been told that it is only a few days more before our child will come forth. I am ready, but also afraid." She confessed, holding him as close to her as she was able.

He held her. "You need not be afraid, wife. This child will come, and will be my heir to the throne."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. It is only that...while it lives within me, we share the same life. I can protect it. When she-"

"Or he!"

"Or _he_, is born, we will be separate. Anything could go wrong."

Leonidas shook his head. "Nothing will."

"That is not a promise you can make, my love."

Leonidas nodded. "I know it is not. Gorgo, this child will have everything, I promise you. I will lay down my life to protect you and all the rest of Sparta."

"And if you die? What will become of us then?"

Leonidas thought for a moment. "Then I will rage through Hades to come back to you both."


	17. Chapter 17

No more than ten days had passed since Leonidas's return to Sparta when he was roused from his sleep by his queen's cry of pain. He was awake in an instant, alert to any threat, ready to kill for her. Gorgo had been sleeping beside him, but she had moved to sit up and placed her hands over her bulging womb.

She turned to him, her eyes large, glowing with fear and happiness. "Leonidas, it's time. Help me, you must bring me to the midwife."

Leonidas moved quickly to do what he knew needed to be done. Carefully, he moved off the bed and eased her onto her feet. He was alarmed to see that her thighs were smeared with a strange fluid, but he said nothing for fear of upsetting her further. The king guided her out of their bedchamber and down a short corridor to find the old, experienced midwife that would safely deliver his heir.

_And she will deliver our child safely, or I will end her myself!_

He felt his heart pounding, but he indicated no fear or excitement. He was king, and had to keep his composure before all, even with the servants. He called for the widwife, who answered them within minutes with several other servants following suit. Around them, Leonidas could sense the entire palace coming awake.

"Oh, Gorgo, I had expected you at about any time, come on, come into the chamber here." The midwife ushered the queen into her chambers, and then ordered her servants to fetch linens, a blade and hot water.

Leonidas began to follow the women inside, but the midwife moved to block his entrance. "No, my lord, you cannot be here for the birth."

At once, he felt ready to strike her for her insolence. "What foolishness do you speak? Gorgo is my wife, it is my child to be born this night!"

The midwife stood her ground. "I am no fool, sire, but I say again: no man will enter."

"I am not just a man, I am your king."

"You are a man all the same. Your father was just as arrogant and stubborn when I delivered you and your brothers! Sire, you must wait outside this chamber-" A pained cry from inside drew both their attention away.

Leonidas stepped forward to go to Gorgo, but the midwife moved to block his path to her. "Sire, you must not-"

"Leonidas, stop,"

He turned to find his father, bleary-eyed from interrupted sleep. Androcles moved forward, flanked by servants and advisors- Cadmus, Gorgo's father, was among them. "You cannot be with her now,"

The midwife took advantage of Leonidas's attention being on his father, and slipped into the chamber, locking the heavy door behind her. Leonidas realized that he'd been locked out and he beat his fist against the door. Androcles moved forward. "Leonidas, you must stop. Birth is a woman's realm where men have no place. Gorgo must do this alone."

Leonidas felt tense with anger, frustration. His wife was giving birth to his child, and he could not be with her! "I should be with her, listen, you can hear her screaming," he growled. The men assembled in the corridor couldn't help but to flinch at the sound of Gorgo's piercing cries. They were all older than Leonidas, and could sympathize with him.

Of all things a Spartan man was meant to endure, the screams of his woman giving birth were by far the worst.

It felt unnatural for any man, Spartan or not, to be parted from his woman, to be rendered helpless. He could not ease her pain or give her comfort, he could do nothing but listen as Gorgo cried and cursed his name for making her with child in the first place.

Androcles moved forward to Leonidas as the first curse of hatred and pain roared through the chamber. "She does not mean to curse you, my son. All women yell such things in labor- I cannot repeat the names your mother called me at the birthing of our first son."

If his father meant for Leonidas to smile, he did not reach his goal. Leonidas only continued to pace outside of the chamber, silently, his hands fisted, his posture rigid. He paced for hours, ignoring the words of his father and Cadmus; he had no interest in their remembered experiences. He did not wish to hear of how it had been at the time when their wives had given birth. He ignored the servants that offered to fetch him wine or food to settle his nerves.

He remained silent, in constant motion, and alert only to Gorgo's screams.

* * *

Hours passed. 

Leonidas paced.

Finally, just at daybreak, the chamber door opened. The screams of the woman had ceased, to be replaced with another's cries. Leonidas saw the midwife and he approached her, pushing into the doorway so as not to be shut out again. The midwife made no move to stop him or speak up as he moved into the large room. He had never been within the birthing chambers, save for the day of his own birth. He noticed that it was very bare, with no murals adorning the walls and no windows to give a view over Sparta.

There was a shallow pool carved into the floor, and three vases bursting with fresh flowers. He was not interested in the room's scant furnishings, he moved straight for Gorgo once he saw her lying on a floor pallet. He moved to her, careful not to crowd her, afraid to hurt her further.

Her hair clung to the sweat glistening over her face and Leonidas was quick to move it away. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, her body limp with exhaustion and slick with sweat. She was breathing hard, as if she had just beat him at yet another race. He glanced away to see servants carrying away linens, stained with what he thought was blood. His heart tightened.

"Gorgo,"

She looked up at him, her eyes were soft on him for but a moment.

Gorgo looked away from him, toward the servants gathered in a far corner of the room.

Leonidas understood. The babe. He could hear it crying. A servant had wrapped it in a linen shawl. Leonidas stood and took the child, his hands had never been more gentle or sure. The tiny mouth had closed, thankfully, and he peered into the babe's face. That his child had form and features, that it was no longer just a thing that moved within Gorgo's womb...his child was so suddenly real to him. He understood now why Gorgo had whispered to him of fear. This tiny, delicate babe was vulnerable to all the world's danger and Leonidas knew them all. He had faced them all.

_Yes, I would claw my way back from Hades for you_, he thought as the babe writhed in his hands.

He looked over to see that Gorgo had moved onto her side, supporting her weight on her elbow. She had been watching as father and child looked upon each other. Even in her exhaustion, she was alert to any change in his expression- any indication of disapproval or revulsion.

Leonidas looked at her and moved to show her their child, but she turned away from him. She could not bring herself to look at it. "No, Leonidas. Just go."

He stopped, understanding.

The birth had been difficult for her; no doubt she had been afraid, missing her own mother as she had given birth. Their trials were not over. Leonidas had to take their child from the palace, and bear it off to the man that stood over the cliffs. Their babe would be taken from him, inspected to assure that the child was worthy of life. If it was, he could return to Gorgo. If it was not...the babe would be thrown down the cliff, left to die against the jagged rocks below.

Leonidas nodded to her as the child began to make a small fuss. "Yes, my lady."

He turned and left the chamber; once he set foot back out into the corridor, Cadmus and Androcles were on him, curious and eager to see their grandchild. They knew that he would take the child from the palace, but they still demanded to see it before the time came for Leonidas to bear it away. Cadmus spoke first. "A hearty child. A healthy voice! We could hear the babe cry, even from out here. Leonidas, is Gorgo...?"

He nodded. "She is awake. You may see her."

Cadmus smiled and put a hand to Leonidas's shoulder. "Thank you, sire."

Androcles looked to the child Leonidas held after Cadmus departed into the chamber to see his daughter. "And now my son has a child. I am truly old."

Leonidas shook his head but did not take his eyes off the babe as it writhed in his hands. "No, you are not old."

"Not too old to walk with you to the cliffs."

Leonidas shook his head. "No. I will go alone, father. Stay here. Gorgo thinks of you as she does Cadmus. Stay close to her until I return."

Androcles nodded. "I understand, son. Go now, for if you linger with the babe any longer you may never make it to the cliffs and that we cannot have. Remember, there is no room for such selfish weakness in a Spartan king."

With his father's words echoing in his mind and heart, Leonidas departed from the palace.


	18. Chapter 18

Leonidas fastened the cloak about his shoulders, readying himself for the journey out of the palace. He was stalling for precious moments to allow his child to gain some strength; if it grew stronger, the man on the cliffs would allow it to live. He looked over at the babe.

He had put it on their bed and for a moment he watched as it writhed beneath the wool shawl. Its arms and legs were moving, as if the babe was thrashing against the restraint. He shook his head; Androcles had told him that, so soon after birth, the babe had no true control over its body. It would wiggle and writhe constantly until it gained a better sense of itself.

"Leonidas, do not try to prevent what is to come."

He turned to find Androcles in the doorway to the royal bedchamber. Cadmus and attending servants were behind him, further back into the corridor. Leonidas said nothing, for he knew that his father was right; nothing he could do would prevent what was to come. If he tried anything mad, such as refusing to take the babe to be inspected, the child would be taken from him and he would face untold punishments- and Gorgo? There was no telling what would befall upon her.

Leonidas nodded to his father and gathered the babe in his arms. He was thankful that it had stopped crying; the sound was grating on his ears. Androcles stepped aside to make room for the king as he stepped out of the royal chambers.

It was time.

* * *

The night was still. 

The moon hung low in the sky, bright and round. Leonidas was thankful for the silver shine that lighted his way as he walked the long path to the cliffs. He paused to look behind him and saw Sparta far back down the hill. The palace held light while the city surrounding was dark. The fields of wheat waved in the wind while he simply stood in the center of the road. Gorgo was within the palace, waiting for him. She was in pain, exhausted, but Leonidas knew her well. She would not sleep until he returned to her either with or without their child.

Leonidas looked down to the tiny bundle he'd been carrying with all care. It occurred to him that in all the hectic excitement, he had no idea whether Gorgo had born him the son he had longed for. He carefully loosened the shawl, just long enough so that he could be sure. He smiled at the proof of an heir.

"My son," he relished the words, so long waited to be spoken out loud.

Leonidas tucked the wool shawl back into place as a quick, cool wind blew over them. He didn't want his son to be cold.

The king turned back to the road, moving quickly. He wanted it to be over, one way or the other. The dread of what was to come had abated slightly. His son was not mishapen; his eyes were bright and clear, he had all fingers and toes, his voice was healthy and loud. There had been nothing inferior to be seen, as far as Leonidas could see- but this was his child, his son. He was biased, more inclined to declare his son as perhaps the strongest, most intelligent and noble of all Spartan infants.

_I must go present my son to the man who waits upon the cliffs, and I will return him to Gorgo..._

He moved quickly, treading the same path that his father had, and his father before him. It was a path tread not only by those in the ruling house, but by generations of advisors and peasants; no Spartan was spared inspection at birth.

The knowledge that he was not, and never had been alone in this private dread did not ease his mind. Leonidas strode faster as the path took a turn toward the distant mountains, where the inspector awaited all Spartans.

* * *

The walk took several hours, as it was difficult to navigate the way once the packed flat footpath gave way to a gravel trail through a small woods and then a steep, rocky climb up to the cliff where the man awaited him. Leonidas was thankful that his son had not began to cry again; his night had been difficult enough. 

Finally, the moon emerged from behind the clouds, lighting the way once more.

The king had reached the site where his son was to be weighed and measured against their oldest standards and traditions. He saw the hovel shelter and called the old man forth for the prince.

A mound that Leonidas had assumed to be a pile of discarded, moth-eaten cloth rose up at his call and shuffled forward. "What child is this?" the stooped man rasped.

"The prince of all Sparta, born hours ago." Leonidas said.

The man nodded and turned his head to look up at him. "You are the king, then?"

Leonidas nodded.

"I never remember the commonfolk, but a prince is always a special occasion. I do not know you, my king. I haven't seen a prince in...it must be over thirty years. There were three princes, which are you?"

"I am Leonidas, king of Sparta. The third son of Androcles. My brothers did not survive their trials in the agoge." He said plainly. He did not wish to give in to nostalgia; he had never met his brothers, they had been entered into their trials when he had been born. Unlike the dimming memories of his mother, Leonidas had no memory at all of the two dead sons of Sparta.

Despite his dread for his wife and son, Leonidas wanted to press forward and return to Sparta.

The old man reached forward to take the bundle from him, leaving Leonidas with a pounding heart and a barely contained, silent rage at the man.

_My son is strong, he will live, he will live, if you dare to hurt him it will be you to die on the jagged rocks!_

For the second time that night, Leonidas was helpless, rooted to the spot and forced to watch as the child that his queen had carried, kept safe and born for him, was manhandled. He was distantly reminded of having had to watch as Gorgo had herself gone through a rough inspection at the hands of the Ephors.

Naturally, his son began to cry in anger as his shawl was stripped away, leaving him naked in the night's chill.

As it was, Leonidas could only watch as the gnarled old man, this assuming stranger, inspected his screaming son as he would a body of livestock. The man tested the mobility of the boy's fingers, wrists, elbows and shoulders before placing a careful hand over his skull to test its shape and then turning the babe onto his stomach so that his spine could be felt for any imperfection.

Leonidas felt the ground tilt beneath his feet as the man suddenly raised his son high over his head.

_No! Do not throw him!_

Panicked, the king started forward, ready to charge at the inspector, to kill him if it would save his son...but the man carefully lowered the boy and then turned to Leonidas. "The gods favor this boy, king of Sparta." He said simply, handing the babe back to him.

Leonidas wrapped him again in the wool shawl and tucked him against his chest to stave off the chill and to muffle the boy's screaming. He moved as quickly as he was able to while carrying such a prize, eager to get back onto the paved path that would lead him, triumphanly, back to Sparta.

Once he cleared the woods, Leonidas looked into the face of his child. His relief was obvious in his stance, and he walked quickly so that he might share this joy with Gorgo.

"My son, my son. All of Sparta is yours."


	19. Chapter 19

The road back to Sparta seemed to Leonidas a swift journey, but perhaps it was his relief that made the road appear less long a distance. He did not waste time on the walk back to the palace; Gorgo had a right to know that her son lived. Leonidas reentered the walls of Sparta and made his way through the darkened streets. No citizen was yet awake, but he did catch sight of his fellow warriors prowling about, restless as always.

He nodded his acknowledgement to Dilios when their paths crossed, but the other man did not try to speak with him once he realized what it was that Leonidas was carrying. The future heir to Sparta!

Dilios bowed his head and watched as Leonidas hurried past him, on up toward the palace.

* * *

Leonidas came into the palace and almost immediately his father was upon him. "So, the child yet lives. Glory to Sparta! Son, let me see my grandchild," Androcles begged him. 

Leonidas's eyes swept the hall, hoping to see Gorgo, but she was not there. He remembered her pained cries of delivering their son, and hoped she was all right. Androcles took the bundle from him and cradled the babe as if it were his own. "A grandson. Glory to Zeus, Leonidas."

Tears shined in the former king's eyes as he beheld the future of Sparta, but he did not let them fall. Both men turned to see Cadmus stride into the hall. He appeared tired, as tired as any of them. "Ah, King Leonidas, our grandchild lives! May I?" He asked, meaning to hold the babe.

Leonidas allowed it, and Androcles handed the fussing babe to Cadmus, who was also rejoycing for a grandson.

The king felt impatient. "Enough! Gorgo has not yet seen her son, where is she?" He demanded.

Cadmus was quick in handing the babe back to him. "She is in the royal bedchambers, sire. I just left her. She is trying not to fall asleep, but she is exhausted and I believe she will have already fallen asleep by now."

Leonidas nodded. "Very well. Then our son shall be the first thing she will see upon waking."

* * *

Their bedchamber was dark when Leonidas stepped over the threshold. The air was lightly scented with incense, and moonlight filtered in through the large windows. He approached the bed carefully, his eyes easily adjusting to the darkness. The bedclothes fell over Gorgo, draping her body. Leonidas watched her for several moments, his chest tightening with love for his wife. 

She was sleeping on her side, her face pale in the soft light. Her mane was spread out beneath her, contrasting with the light sheets of their bed. Her breasts rose and fell with each breath. Leonidas wished to lift the covers and gaze upon her naked body; he was curious about her womb, he wanted to see if it was flat once again. In a strange way, he felt that he would miss touching her there, hoping to feel his child stir within.

Leonidas recalled her screams during the birth, and how exhausted she had been in the brief time he had seen her afterwards. He felt hesitant to wake her. She needed the rest, but she also needed to see that their son had lived.

_I am king, a warrior, a soldier...I have no fear of any man or beast...the only thing on this earth that moves me is this woman..._

Leonidas felt torn, but he thought of a way to present their son to her upon waking, and so he carried the babe to their bed. Carefully, Leonidas lifted the covers and placed the babe on his side next to her. He watched as the babe moved on instinct to take Gorgo's breast, suckling for his first earned meal. The king smiled as he watched his son and his wife together for the first time. He felt his chest swell with happiness, with triumph.

He was content to sit in the center of the bed and watch them together.

Gorgo stirred slightly and then gasped as she felt the tiny mouth at her breast. She came awake and seemed frozen with surprise for a moment. Then, she touched the babe's face as he suckled her. "Child?"

"Son." Leonidas said.

Gorgo looked up at him, as she hadn't noticed him until he spoke. "Our son...Leonidas, we have a son..." Tears spilled over her cheeks as she cradled the babe against her chest, moving to recline back against the pillows. She stroked a careful, warm hand over the babe's back as she would a favored pet. The blanket fell slightly, to reveal her breasts but she moved it to keep her waist covered.

Leonidas smiled and moved to sit closer to her. He took one of her hands in his. "Thank you, Gorgo. You have given me a strong, healthy son to take the throne once my reign ends. You are a good woman, a good wife."

Gorgo returned his smile, albeit tiredly. He understood. Her hand lifted to stroke his hair and playfully tugged on his beard. "I may have given you a son, my king, but it is you that has given me a husband."

Leonidas took her hand and kissed her palm, then her wrist. He reached for the covers, trying to lift them so that he might see her body. Gorgo slapped at his hand, "No, Leonidas, do not look at me!"

He tilted his head in confusion. "Why? I only wish to see you." He did not understand her sudden need to hide from him.

She shook her head, fearful and defensive. "No. Leonidas, birth damages a woman. The midwife says that I will not return to my old self for weeks, you cannot see me and you must not take me until I have had time to heal-"

Leonidas reared back from her, understanding now, and very upset. "Our son had not yet lived a day and you think I would take you now? How dare you think of me in that way, I am not an animal!"

Angered, Leonidas moved off their bed, intent to leave the room. Gorgo separated herself from their son. "Leonidas,"

He came around the bed to brace his hands over her shoulders, preventing her from standing. "No, Gorgo. Do not try to follow me, you need to rest." He lifted a hand to touch her cheek and then to stroke her hair, gentle as he had always been. He looked down at her ripe, full breasts. Her words returned to him, fueling his anger. "Cover yourself, queen, else I might lose all control and rut over you like a bull in heat."

Leonidas regretted the words later, as he paced the floor of a guestroom, and he hated himself for the memory of Gorgo's pained expression. Still, that she would think him so base as to take her mere hours after bearing him a son! He could not help his temper, and he recalled his earlier thoughts that Gorgo was the only person in all of Greece that could rouse any emotion within him, be it anger, happiness, desire or even childlike playfulness.

He felt frustrated that they would have cross words now, so soon after the birth of their prince. It was unlike them, and he admitted that he might have overreacted to her fear, but he had always become upset when she indicated any fear of him. Did she truly think him an animal? Had she merely been enduring his attentions all this time?

Leonidas had love for his wife, despite the necessary distance custom demanded be set between them in public. He knew that she felt the same. It was a difficult time for them, that was all.

_No, no. We are stressed, frustrated, overwhelmed- I will speak with her in time...this life is too short to be so petty..._

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

Leonidas awoke regretful, as did Gorgo though she did not wake alone. Their son woke her with the loud cries of a hungry child. She moved him to her breast so that he could feed, and her eyes scanned the room, hoping to see that Leonidas had returned to her some time while she and the child had slept.

He was not with them, and Gorgo felt her heart drop. _I should not have denied him, nor accused him_, she thought mournfully. Gorgo put a hand to her middle, where once their child had dwelled. She felt strangely empty now, despite the new fullness in her breasts and heart. Gorgo sighed slightly, feeling foolish as she looked at herself in the morning light.

The midwife's muddled words returned to her, warning her to beware her husband's attentions, for she needed time to heal and to recover her figure. The queen could never appear undesireable; it would take hard work to recover her body from the birth. Gorgo stroked her son's soft, bare back.

_I am a Spartan queen, no challenge is too great._

Gorgo did not fear the exercises all Spartan women went through to recover themselves after a birth, she only feared that she would not be able to recover Leonidas.

* * *

Androcles was an old warrior, a former king, a widower, a father and now, a grandfather. He felt blessed by Zeus in all ways, and gave his thanks every day. After dressing himself, he descended from his private chambers and went in search of his son, his daughter in-law and his grandson. He felt he had not seen enough of his grandson the night before, he wanted a look at the boy in the bright light of day. 

He headed toward the chambers of the new royal family, and was bade to enter. Gorgo was sitting on the bed, resting, while the babe was sleeping beside her. "Good morning, little queen," he greeted her.

She smiled at him, but he noticed that the smile did not reach her eyes. "Good morning, second father. Did you sleep well?"

Androcles shrugged, feeling that there was something he was missing. "Well enough. Are you well?"

Gorgo nodded. "Yes, I am well. The midwife left moments before you arrived, she said that I am strong and will be able to leave the bed soon, perhaps as soon as later this afternoon, if I am able."

He nodded. "No need to hurry, Gorgo. My wife birthed me three sons, each more trouble than the last," He said, hinting.

Gorgo glanced up. "No, I cannot remain in bedrest. There is too much to do."

Androcles felt that she was avoiding his silent question. Women had strange ways of speaking. "Gorgo, where is my son?"

To his surprise, Gorgo bent forward to cry, "I do not know where he has gone! We...we had an arguement last night and he left...Hera, I am such a fool!"

Androcles moved to sit down beside her and put a hand on her back, stroking her for comfort. "Gorgo, Gorgo, please tell me what happened."

Gorgo swallowed, and began to tell the former king what had happened between them.

Moments after she explained, Androcles stormed out, ready to thrash his son.

* * *

Androcles strode about the palace, demanding his son's whereabouts to anyone he found walking through the grand corridors. Finally, a small, scared little helot said that he had seen the king wandering near the central gardens earlier in the morning. Androcles chastised himself for not having thought of that area first, but paid it no mind as he left the building to step outside. 

He stalked through the gardens, ready to burn the entire area if only he would be able to find his idiot son. "Leonidas, damn it all, where are you?" Androcles bellowed.

"Father?"

Androcles plowed through a large fern, uncaring of the efforts the palace gardeners would need to apply to repair the damage. He did not hesitate to stride directly up to Leonidas and shove him hard in the chest. Leonidas took a step back to recover his balance, but he did not try to fight his father. They had not fought since before Leonidas was taken away for the agoge, but he did not relish a bout of sparring.

"Leonidas, you are such a fool! How could you have said such a thing to your wife on the very day she gave birth to your son? Do you hope for a war within the palace?"

Leonidas took a deep breath, sighing. "Father, I already know that I am a fool; there is no need to tell me. As you can see, I have one of the most revered Spartan poets to help me. Perhaps sweet words will erase the harsh words from the night before." He said, gesturing to a young man that was standing near the central fountain, several parchments were strewn about him on the ground, scribbles covering them all.

Androcles shook his head. "She does not wish for flowery words written by another man, Leonidas. You'd be better off writing prose yourself."

Leonidas smiled wryly, his first smile that day. "You say that now, but as you know I've never been giften with prose and poems."

"Then you ought to go forward and see her yourself, Leonidas. She seems empty without you."

The king looked up toward the balcony that led to the royal bedchambers. "You think so?"

"There were a few occasions where I said more than I should have to your mother; disharmony is not good, Leonidas. It will eat away at you until you can think of nothing else. You are king, there is no room for misunderstandings here. Go, son."

"You think I should just go to her now?"

Androcles considered for a moment. "Son, after what you said last night, perhaps a few prose and flowers might be wise."

* * *


	21. Chapter 21

Leonidas moved through the palace, idly reflecting on his words from the night before. He had been insulted by his wife's defensiveness, as if she had thought he would truly be inclined to mount her mere hours after birthing their son! The night before had been difficult for the both of them. Had Gorgo thought that he would be unaffected by it all? His helplessness during the birth, the first time he'd held their child and then the torture of standing by during his son's inspection?

He shook his head as he came to stand before the entrance to his bedchambers. _I had allowed myself to give in to stress and I spoke without thought. Forgive me, my queen..._

Leonidas glanced down at the flowers and the short, awkward prose he'd written for her while he was in the gardens. He was a warrior, not a poet, but he had hope that Gorgo would accept his remorse and appreciate the gesture of apology.

He shouldered the heavy door open and stopped in his tracks as he entered the room. Gorgo was out of bed, testing herself. Leonidas rushed forward to catch her, though she had not stumbled in the slightest. "Gorgo, what are you doing? You should be in bed!"

She struggled against him as he sat her on the edge of their bed and knelt at her feet. Her eyes spat green fire at him. "What are you doing here, _sire?_" She demanded, hissing the last word at him like a curse.

Leonidas put his hands over her knees, then moving them up to rest over her thighs. She was clad in modest linen robes, their folds so voluminous that no hint of the shape of her body was given to his eyes. "I came to see you, my love, and here I find you walking when you should be resting."

Gorgo rolled her eyes at him. "I can walk, Leonidas. I had a child, I did not go to war. Why are you here?"

Her anger was cutting. "I came to see you so that we might speak. I was..." Leonidas struggled for the right words, never his area of expertise. "I did not think of your stresses when I spoke last night, I did not understand. I am sorry, Gorgo."

He watched as her face softened. She raised a hand to him, stroking her fingers through his hair as she had countless times in the past. His eyes slipped closed for just a moment in remembered affection. "Leonidas...I am sorry as well. I should not have denied you, nor should I have ever accused you. I know that you are no animal."

Leonidas rose to sit beside her on the edge of their bed. He brought his arms around her and kissed the crown of her hair. She had had her servants weave the Spartan golden threads into her braids, and she still wore the necklace he'd gifted to her on their wedding night. Leonidas touched her hair, and realized how he had missed her in their angry time apart. He leaned down to kiss her, thrilling at her lips.

As she had been with child, kissing and soft caresses had been the only intimacies that Leonidas had ventured over her. He kissed her deeply and then moved down to kiss her cheek and the tender pulse point at her neck. "You have my heart, my king...you are my man..." Gorgo breathed against his ear.

Leonidas smiled and nuzzled her neck further, the way he knew she loved. "And you are my woman, Gorgo. The only queen of Sparta."

They remained on the bed for a time, silent and caressing. They had both been starved of full intimacy during the time that she had been with child, but after what had happened the night before, Leonidas dared not press for too much. He stroked his fingers through her hair as she so often did to him.

He found that, as always when it came to this woman, he was curious. "Gorgo. I'll not touch you, but may I see you as I wished to do last night?"

She paused, unsure if she should refuse him for her pride. "I...just for a moment, my king. And just remember, I will regain myself once I am able to take on the exercises that all Spartan women perform after giving birth..."

Leonidas watched as she moved further onto her back and untied the straps at her shoulders. She laid back against the bed and looked to him, giving her silent permission to him. He nodded his understanding and reached to her, drawing back the robe. His eyes absorbed her, one moment at a time. The golden blush of her skin remained, for which Leonidas was very grateful. Her breasts rose and fell with her shuddering breaths; they were full and proud, the tips tightening in the sudden exposure to his eyes. Her abdomen, the part of her he had longed to see, seemed deflated now that there was no child. Her stomach and the sides of her waist were now striped with lighter streaks of gold.

He laid a hand over her empty womb. No child stirred within.

Leonidas recognized the changes of her body, but she was in no way diminished to him.

"You are beautiful, Gorgo, never fear that I think otherwise."

He leaned down to kiss her once more.

* * *

Time passed, in which Leonidas and Gorgo continued their growth in adjustment to the seats of power in Sparta. Their son grew stronger every day, a blessing to the king and queen. 

Gorgo had gone away on retreat with many Spartan women recent to have given birth. While away, they trained to recover their strength and shapes. While the queen had been away, Leonidas had taken over primary care of their son, yet he was not without the aid of several attendant women. He adored his son and took the gentle teasing of his father and Cadmus in stride; they were all infatuated with Sparta's prince.

Their son, Pleistarchos, had been over two months old by the time that Gorgo made her return to the palace. Where before she had been soft and womanly, she had returned to Leonidas sleek with lean muscle. She had been beautiful and much enhanced in all ways; in jest, Leonidas had challenged her to spar and she had proven herself to be nothing short of a Spartan gladiatrix. That night their passion had been reignited within their bedchambers, recalling the endless nights of love they had shared when their efforts had been to concieve. Where once their efforts were for an heir, they had began to make love for the pleasure found in each other.

Months passed.

Once he was able to walk and to keep steady on his little feet, Leonidas was eager to begin training sessions with their son. Gorgo kept a careful eye on father and son, pleased to see their progress and recognizing that their son had inherited all of Leonidas's aggression and cunning. She would not be wrong in thinking their bond grew stronger with every sparring session.

There was love within their house; strongest love for Sparta, the love between a man and wife, love between parents and their only child.

For a time, all things were peaceful, but as with all things, the harmony in Sparta soon came to an untimely and bloody end.

* * *


	22. Chapter 22

* * *

Rumors of a Persian approach had been circulating for years. Tales of a great king in the highest, ruler of a world beyond Greece's measure. He, the great Xerxes, who commanded an army of monsters, who held all women in captivation, who held all men in complete fear. 

A master.

A living god.

Leonidas had dismissed these rumors, every one.

"Tales like these are for children," he was known to have said. "I have heard of this Xerxes, but until I see him myself, I will not entertain such silly stories."

News traveled quickly of fallen Greek rulers, slain by the assassins in the god-king's employ. There had been small skirmishes between Greece and the Persians before, each fight becoming larger as the years went on and the generations changed.

All of Sparta knew that the Persian empire looked upon Greece with hungry eyes- empires had to expand, else they died out. None were more familiar with 'fight or die' than the Spartans, but it was a city like any other. Not every citizen was a warrior- there were many defenseless women and children within the city walls; whole families were left at risk in the villages outside of Sparta's protection.

Leonidas knew this. Leonidas also knew that he would have as good as sentenced all of Sparta to death if he had given his submission to the Persian messenger.

He was a Spartan. The beautiful chaos of war pulsed in his blood and in the blood of his wife and sons.

"War is coming to Greece, Gorgo. It cannot be avoided; no negotiations will take place now. It is war, I can feel it in my bones." Leonidas had confided to her.

Gorgo had been resting in their bed beside him. It was very late at night, soft silver light from the moon and stars poured in on them. The bedchambers were sacred to them. This was where they had first become man and wife. Their children had been planted here. It was here and only here that they could confess their doubts to each other. The only place where they were not judged.

She touched his shoulder, stroking his back. "We knew war would come upon us, husband. It was inevitable." She was silent for a time. "When will you march?"

Leonidas had hesitated. "It will be soon. I have already asked the Senate to allow me to take the full might of Sparta's warriors..."

"Leonidas?"

He sighed. "They will refuse me unless the Ephors and their Oracle conceed."

With those words, Gorgo felt her heart drop.

Gorgo had known that war would someday find her family. Sparta boasted to have the greatest warriors ever known to walk the earth; with such strong boasting, how could they have avoided challenge for long?

The Ephors had refused Leonidas, of course. Insulting him and his queen, content to allow him, his wife and children, content to allow all of Sparta to be enslaved or slaughtered, so long as they remained in their false seats of power.

Gorgo stood in the road, watching as Leonidas, the great king of all Sparta, followed after his warriors. He had agonized over the choice- to put Sparta to war, or not, it did not matter. His people would be killed regardless. Xerxes would not allow the Spartans to survive, and why bother to hope otherwise?

Xerxes had done more than absorb other cities into his empire- he had enslaved them.

Leonidas knew that he would die; he only wished for his people, all Spartans, to understand that he had faced down the enemy and fought to the death defending them. He could have taken the whole of Sparta's forces, but even as he had walked toward the mountain temple of the Ephors, he knew his words would fall on deaf and contemptuous ears.

The Ephors had waited, patient as snakes, and had their revenge at the cost of Sparta.

It is often said that cities die first from within. Corrupt and full of greed, power-hungry and ambitious, it was Theron- an advisor to the Senate!- that had sold Sparta to the Persians. Turning the Ephors had been simple once they heard promises of exotic Oracles and mountains of gold. Theron gloated to himself that he had overpowered Sparta with his cleverness, without lifting a finger.

Gorgo had cried alone over the pain she had allowed Theron to inflict upon her- a queen reduced to a man's whore while her king had sacraficed himself to save her. She had been desperate for support to release the might of Sparta upon the approaching Persians. She allowed him to use her brutally, hardly a sigh of pain escaped her as Theron had mounted her like a savage.

_Forgive me, Leonidas...know that you have my heart forever...Zeus, give me the strength to endure Theron, if only so that I might be able to honor Leonidas in the end..._

Theron had his way with her, but it was Gorgo that had triumphed. No sooner was Theron revealed as a traitor and his body strung up as a symbol of all things wicked, Sparta released its furies upon the Persians, leading all that remained of Greece.

Every night, Gorgo knelt upon a marble altar and prayed that Leonidas be returned to her safely. Even when she knew her prayers were in vain, the queen knelt and prayed.


	23. Chapter 23

The battle raged for days.

Leonidas had been in his share of fights. He was a Spartan king; his natural place was on the front lines of a battlefield, slashing and stabbing his way to a glorious victory. He had slashed. He had stabbed. He had fought and killed until he had lost count of the Persians dead by his hand...but in his heart, he knew that there would be no victory here in the battle of the Hot Gates.

His Spartans were fearless. Many of them had fought beside him in the past. He knew them as his countrymen, his brothers in legacy. They were dying as the battle went on. They were outnumbered, they had known that since the beginning. They were facing foes armed with strange beasts and even stranger magic. The Spartans reveled in the fight, but they were losing out quickly.

Leonidas had known that no negotiations would sway Xerxes. The man- for he was a man, not a living god- was consumed with his need to expand the Persain empire. He saw the Spartans as an amusing "tribe" of people, useful to him only as future slaves. He saw their complete rebellion as a cute diversion. Leonidas saw this battle as the only way to prevent Sparta from being overcome with tyranny.

He sought to postpone the inevitable war that would come; this battle would give his people time to prepare.

He looked behind him and saw that his camp- half the size it had been when they had started out- was settling in for a night of needed rest. There had been much killing, and yet it was never enough. Leonidas knew enough history to know that for as long as men have walked the earth, they have thrilled in the defeat of their foes.

_And women? They live only to stand by and watch as men destroy themselves..._

He thought of Gorgo and the hell he had brought onto her with his impulsive nature. She was alone in Sparta now; the only royal of age to direct the city. Their first son was still too young to understand anything of the world around him, he had not yet entered his trials of the agoge! Leonidas blinked. He would not be there next year, to comfort Gorgo once their son was taken from the palace.

It was a strange thought to have, to know that he would not see his family, or Sparta ever again. That he would die, finally, here in battle beside his fellow warriors, fighting to protect all that he loved. His first son would have few memories of him. His others would have none at all. Gorgo would remember him, and mourn. And then, she would remarry. Or worse.

Leonidas looked off into the distance and gripped his sword tighter.

If the Senate did nothing, Sparta would be unprepared and then overtaken. His children would be killed. His wife would be raped, enslaved or killed along with the other Spartans in power. The king allowed a sigh to escape him; he could feel his own end coming, but his thoughts were sharp with dread for the end of his people. The Spartan legacy of discipline, control and strength would be lost. History would remember him as the king that could not save his city, or Xerxes would have all of Greece erased from history and Sparta would be truly lost- obliterated, just as the bastard king had threatened.

He shook his head slightly as a light rain began to fall. He chose to think of it as a blessing sent to them by his queen's prayers. He listened as several Spartans awoke and brought out pots to capture the water. War gave a man deep thirst.

_If it was in my power to change the world, I would do so only to protect you, Gorgo..._

He set his thoughts to a happier time to ease the growing ache within his heart.

It had been two years before, when Gorgo had expressed to him a wish to escape their hectic lives in the palace for just one day. Unable to deny such a small request, Leonidas had taken her away to a place he recalled that his own mother had once taken him. It was a field of golden wheat, growing on the eastern side of a foothill, far from Sparta. They had left their horses to drink at a nearby stream, and looked over their city from the hill's crest.

Leonidas had brought a blanket and Gorgo had had her servants pack them a meal. They had ate, and spoken plainly, free to laugh and tease and play to their hearts' content. With Gorgo, Leonidas felt younger, more carefree. He was not a king with her, he was only a man. Her husband. Gorgo had laid down on the blanket he'd spread on the grass and she had looked up at him. He remembered thinking that he had seen the world in her eyes.

"Husband, I am again with child." She had said.

Leonidas had been moved with happiness. Where some men were uncertain, Leonidas rejoyced in fatherhood. He had kissed her in his joy.

It was a golden time for them.

To preserve the opportunity for his sons to have such a time, Leonidas knew he would give his life.


	24. Chapter 24

Gorgo had known that Leonidas would not return to her, to his children. He had known it as well. She had prayed for his protection, prayed to give him strength and courage to face his end. It had all been in vain, but she had fought against despair with her own sense of hope.

She had been in the fields with their first son when Dilios, all alone and badly wounded, had marched up the road. For a moment he had stood with the sun at his back, casting him into silhouette. Foolishly, Gorgo had felt her heart jump with hope that the man coming toward her was her husband, the great Leonidas...but as he moved closer she knew that it was not. Leonidas had been taller than this man. Darker. Of a bigger build.

She had recognized Dilios and felt a piece of her rot away and die. Leonidas has fallen at the hands of the Persians. _It was Xerxes that killed my husband, my dearest love..._

Dilios had been a friend to both Gorgo and Leonidas for many years. When she had acted as a healer, she had aided him after a fight and his life had been saved at her skill. He had fought beside her husband before they had even married; there were few men that Gorgo felt she could trust. Besides Leonidas, Dilios was first in honesty and pride. He had spoken no words on the road, only placing the wolf fang into her hands and continuing his march to Sparta. He had a wife and children to see, and after them, he would inform the Senate of what must be done, what Leonidas had given his life to protect.

Gorgo had stood for several moments, staring blankly at the necklace in her hands. Leonidas's gift to her on their wedding night. The wolf had long been a symbol of his strength, his cunning and courage. Theron had mocked her king's noble heart as being idealistic. _Fool!_ It was not Leonidas that had been killed by a mere woman, exposed as a wicked traitor.

She felt small, strong thin arms at her waist and looked down to see their son. Pleistarchos. The first son, the future ruler of all Sparta. Her heart was screaming for Leonidas, already her soul felt half-dead, but she was queen. There could be no public wailing, no desperate clutching for a dead husband. She had to lead her people forward with dignity. Mourning Leonidas would be done in the privacy of their bedchambers. Already the realization that he would never set foot there with her again, never hold her, never kiss her, was jarring.

They had known he would be killed but, foolish as she was, Gorgo had allowed herself to hope for his survival.

_If any man could face and defeat such an army as boasted by the Persians, I know Leonidas could do it!_

How childish her hopes, how infantile in their gulibility.

_Now is not the time for self-pity._

She knelt to Pleistarchos and searched his face for resemblance to his father. It was difficult for her to tell. She had never seen Leonidas as he had looked when he was a younger man, and certainly not when he'd been a mere boy! With her, his face had never been bare of a beard, his mane had been full atop his head; he had never been thin or small. Gorgo took a deep, shuddering breath.

Pleistarchos was silent as she assessed him, and then Gorgo realized. His eyes. They were the same dark, laughing eyes of fire that the king had possessed.

Strange that she had never noticed before now, but it might have been that Leonidas had come in spirit just then, to give them both the strength and the courage to continue on without him.

Gorgo passed the necklace over her son's head, and told him of the sacrafice his father had made.

The sacrafice he had made for all of Sparta, and how it would be Pleistarchos that would carry on his father's reign.

Their son nodded his understanding, and she knew in her heart that the boy did understand what she was telling him.

Gorgo felt a soft, warm breeze lift her hair and carress the nape of her neck. It was Leonidas, she knew, sending her a message of reassurance.

"Come, my son." Gorgo said, taking his hand into her own, "It is time we returned to Sparta."

Together, they moved to follow Dilios back towards their city, to the glorious victory that awaited.


End file.
